


Moonlight Shadow

by TheaHaleBlack



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Drama & Romance, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Genderswap, Klaus Mikaelson Has A Heart, Magically Powerful Harry Potter, Master of Death Harry Potter, Reincarnation, mikaelson family feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 89,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23391559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheaHaleBlack/pseuds/TheaHaleBlack
Summary: When Death told Aria Dorea Potter that she was its Master, she didn’t know that unwanted title included immortality and memories from her previous life. She’d no way of knowing she would be forced to leave her friends and England behind. Or that, one day, when she decided to settle down in Mystic Falls, she would meet again with her true love, the Original Hybrid, and their family, the Original Family. Klaus/FemHP.
Relationships: Female Harry Potter/Klaus Mikaelson, Klaus Mikaelson/Harry Potter
Comments: 298
Kudos: 1741
Collections: Harry Potter, Harry Potter Fanfic Must Reads, To remember and cherish, Vampire Diaries Fanfic Must Reads





	1. Prologue: It wasn't as easy as falling asleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to point out that English is not my first language so please excuse any mistakes I make. Also, Harry Potter and Vampire Diaries are not my property, I'm just playing around with the characters and worlds for fun. 
> 
> Ps. Stay safe inside your houses and don't forget to wash your hands. I hope everyone is okay in this difficult time.

#  **PROLOGUE**

**IT WASN’T AS EASY AS FALLING ASLEEP**

On May 2nd, 1998, Aria Potter sacrificed herself for the greater good and died.

She expected that to be her last act, the final chapter of a tragic story that it should have ended when she was a baby and Voldemort went after her for the first time. She expected to die – to be as easy as falling asleep, like Sirius had promised – and then to be in the eternal company of her loved ones, in whatever world or space there was beyond death. She expected peace.

But that’s not what she got.

Not by a long shot.

Instead, after the bright green light of the killing curse hit her, her whole world went dark and she woke up in a completely unknown, yet strangely familiar, forest. It was really strange because she was sure she had never been in that forest - with its big trees and birds singing at the top of them – and yet… a part of her felt right at home in there.

“ _This is where everything began. The place where the spell that changed the course of history was first cast._ ”

Aria turned around, ready for a fight, but she found herself face-to-face with an entity dressed all in black, with a mask covering its face and an ancient and powerful magical presence that almost sent her to her knees. And, despite not having seen this being before, she knew, with a certainty that was almost scary, _who_ stood in front of her.

“Death” she greeted as calmly as she could.

“ _Master_ ” the immortal being greeted back.

She fought down the urge to tremble, to run, to cower or show any kind of weakness. She was Lady Potter-Black, the last living heir of the Peverell Family, the Girl-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, and now, it seemed, the Master of Death. She would not be afraid. Not even in front of an immortal as ancient as creation itself. 

She lifted her chin, defiant.

Death didn’t have a face but, for some reason, she felt like it would be smiling if it could. “ _No matter the life you’ve lead, your spirit remains the same it seems._ ”

She frowned, confused. “I don’t understand”

 _“No, I suppose you don’t. Not yet anyway.”_ Death said, too cryptic for her liking “ _Do you known what is needed to become my Master?_ ”

“The Hallows” But even as she said the words, Aria knew that couldn’t possibly be the only requirement. No after feeling the power of Death itself. Three objects, no matter how powerful, couldn’t possibly be the only key to master a being as powerful and ancient as Death. 

“ _The Hallows were invented later, much later... they were invented long after I decided to seek a champion of my own. They were designed to be reunited by someone worthy of their combined power, yes… but the final decision would always be mine. And I decided, several millennia ago, that only someone capable of accepting death for what it truly was would be worthy of sharing a part of my power and becoming my champion. And you, my dear, have proven yourself to me. Again and again, for the last millennia. This, your last death, was just the last test, the culmination of a millennia in the making._ ”

“But how it’s that possible? I’m seventeen years old and, as far as I know, this is the first time I’ve died… and I… I don’t understand.” She murmured, confused and more than a little bewildered.

“ _You’re seventeen years old in this life_ ” corrected Death.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what that meant. “You’re talking about reincarnation. Are you saying this is not my first life?”

“ _I’m not saying anything, my dear. If you're so interested in those pesky whys, you should have to find out on your own. You’ve all the time in the world after all._ ”

She got the impression that Death was done with their conversation – if its little monologue and her confused replies could even qualify as a conversation – but she couldn’t allow it to leave. Not when she’d so many questions. “Wait…”

“ _Oh, that’s right, I almost forgot. Don’t worry about little Tom Riddle. After you defeat him, I plan to capture what it’s left of his soul and make him suffer for the rest of eternity... Daring to believe he’d found a way to free himself for me. Ha! As if I would allow a lesser being like him to escape me._ ”

“Did that mean… I’m no longer a horcrux?”

“ _You were never a horcrux, not a proper one at least_ ” refuted Death and, for the first time, she was able to detect true ire in its tone. “ _That old fool. Believing himself above everyone else....You should’ve never trusted him, my dear. He was incapable of realizing that, even if you had a small piece of Tom Riddle’s soul, you weren’t like the other horcruxes. There were other much safer ways to free you of that small fragment. Especially considering your soul is so strong and resilient... Damn that old fool._ ”

She stared, too stunned to do anything else. Because if Death was saying what she thought it was saying then… The old headmaster had not only raised her like a pig to be slaughtered and treated her like his perfect obedient little soldier in a war she was too young to be part of. But he’d also sent her to her death under a misconception he hadn’t even bother to check first.

Oh, how she wished Dumbledore was in front of her. So she could curse him… or kill him again. Slowly and very, very painfully.

Sadly, she’d other things, besides Dumbledore’s incompetency, to focus at the moment.

“So I died for nothing?” 

“ _Oh, don’t fret, my dear. I could never take away the soul of my champion._ ”

Aria took a big breath because it couldn’t possibly mean that…

“ _You’ve a long road ahead of you. A life full of wonder and adventure. So, go ahead, my dear, wake up and finish that silly little war of yours”_

She would have loved to stay and demanded all the answers she wanted. To fight for her right to know what the bloody hell was going on, because it sure felt like Fate was playing a game with her life, one that Death was all too aware of. And she’d had enough of that for a lifetime. But she didn’t get a chance for any of that.

Everything around her vanished into nothing and she felt herself succumb to the darkness once more.

And, as she lost consciousness, she heard Death’s voice whispering in her ear. _“Don’t worry, my dear champion, this won’t be the last time we meet, you and I. We’ve an eternity ahead of us after all.”_

* * *

**& &&//00//&&&**

* * *

The dreams started right after the war was won, even if Aria didn’t notice them at the beginning.

She was too focused on taking care of Teddy and helping with everything that needed to be done in order to stabilize the Wizarding World of Great Britain, a feat almost impossible to achieve when you took into consideration the three years of open war that had decimated their population, destroyed the most important buildings and shops in the country and spread fear and hate through their nation; not to mention the need to completely reorganize their ministry, after being poisoned by decades of corruption, prejudice, and blood money.

In those early days, when everyone seemed to need her presence for something or another, she went to sleep for no more than a couple of hours every other day, and when she actually took her time to sleep, it was more along the lines of crashing exhausted in the closest flat surface for however long it was possible until it was time to be up and around again.

All in all, it took her a while to recognize the recurring dreams.

She couldn’t quite remember what they were about, not really – even after they became a common occurrence every night – but the one thing she could distinctly remember was the feeling she got every time she woke up. It was impossible to forget, even as the dreams slowly vanished from her mind, how real and all-consuming they felt.

Some days she would wake up crying, reaching for someone who wasn’t there for comfort. Others, she woke up feeling happy, like she’d spent a long day surrounded by family. Then there were days when she would felt content and sated, still feeling phantom lips on hers while his hands roamed all over her body. And there were other days when her awareness to the present would come back painfully slow, leaving her feeling lost and unsure of what was actually real.

And the more time passed, the more frequent they became.

So much so that, eventually, they started to hunt her during her days as well.

She would be walking through the streets and see blue eyes and a smile full of dimples and, for a second, she would be able to see an achingly familiar male face smiling at her, one that she’d only seen in her dreams. Or she would hear someone saying the words ‘ _little sister_ ’ or ‘ _sister’_ and she would turn around, thinking they were talking to her until the moment passed and she remembered she wasn’t anybody’s sister. Not in this life at least.

But, no matter how frequent and real the dreams became, Aria refused to acknowledge them.

After everything Death had told her in their only conversation, it was obvious that the dreams were about her past lives and she refused to be controlled by the ghost of people long gone. Even as the dreams become more real, the moments of déjà vu increased and she started missing unknown dead people, Aria refused to think or talk about it, sealing all her memories about the dreams in a locked box inside her head.

Because she got the feeling that once she opened the box, she would never be able to lock it again.

* * *

**& &&//00//&&&**

* * *

After the life she had, Aria should have known that you can’t avoid something forever.

And, four years after the war ended, a silly remark from Ron opened the Pandora’s Box in a way she couldn’t have predicted.

They were going through their pictures of their schooldays in an effort to find the most special ones, so Ron could use them for his – surprisingly romantic and very well put-together – proposal to Hermione, when they come across an old photo of the four of them a couple of weeks after the Final Battle, in those early days when the reconstruction of Hogwarts seemed like a monumental and impossible task.

Staring at the picture of the four of them – filled with new scars and too thinned to be healthy but with eyes full of hope for the future ahead of them – Aria couldn’t help but felt like that was a good and honest representation on how was their world in the aftermath of the war. Tired, battered and even a little broken but slowly mending itself, healing the deep scars that decades full of war, hate, fear, and prejudice had left in its wake.

In contrast, Ron took a look at the picture and laughed in wonder.

“It’s like you haven’t aged a day, mate. What’s your secret? Are you sure the Philosopher Stone isn't hidden under your bed or something?” he said, teasingly.

Aria laughed, bumping her shoulder with his. “Dream on, Weasley. All this beauty is perfectly natural.”

“If you said so, mate.”

They changed the subject after that, joking and bantering like always as they combed through their old pictures, marveling at how much their world - and them - had changed in over a decade.

But, even as she joked and acted like everything was perfectly normal, Aria couldn’t help but repeat Ron’s words in the back of her mind, growingly increasingly scared of how accurate they were.

So, needing to be absolutely certain, long after Ron was gone from her house, Aria took Teddy to his grandmother, went back to her home and then sat on the old floor of Number 12 Grimmauld Place as she went through her pictures again, analyzing them with careful detail, looking for differences between her seventeen-old-self and her twenty one-old-self.

And it was with a sinking stomach that she realized something.

Of course, there were differences between her old and present self. Her seventeen-self had spent months on the run, living half-starved after a childhood full of neglect and abuse, had been the proclaimed Enemy Number One in a war carried out by the most powerful and evil Dark Lord of their time, who had never hesitated in going – or sending his sadistic legion of minions – after her, a minor at the time, or any of her loved ones. Her seventeen-self had been a child of war, carrying the weight of the world on her tiny and tired shoulders, ready to give up her life for the greater good, especially if it meant that everything would finally end.

But she wasn’t that child anymore and her body reflected that. She was a victor and she was at peace. She was healthy because, for the first time in her life, she was at ease with her place in the world.

So, of course, there were differences between then and now.

But if you looked past those things, if you looked for age lines or any kind of marks made by time itself, you wouldn’t found none. Because the hard truth was that she hadn’t aged a day since the Final Battle of Hogwarts.

Aria Potter, Master of Death, was stuck at the age of seventeen.

* * *

**& &&//00//&&&**

* * *

She didn’t tell anybody right away.

She couldn’t. It was too much. And the repercussions were too great. 

First, she tried to convince herself there was a solution to her situation.

For weeks, after she’d made sure Teddy would be safe and sound with Andromeda, she locked herself inside Number 12 Grimmauld Place, with only a grumpily concerned Kreacher for company, looking for ways to remedy her situation. She tried everything she could think of, from not-so-legal blood spells and rituals to obscure and long-forgotten pieces of magic only someone with her power was capable of pulling off. But, no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t find how to fix herself. 

Then, after she was absolutely sure, came the rage.

It wasn’t fair. After everything she’d gone through - all the blood, tears, and trauma – and everything she’d lost and sacrifice, denying her a chance of a normal life felt like a truly cruel twist of fate. She was in a good place emotionally, was a parent to an energetic four-year-old, lived her days surrounded by her chosen family and had finally accepted her place as the Lady Potter-Black in their society. This – immortality – would take everything away from her, would deny her the chance to live a normal life. 

It wasn’t fair.

But there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

Except for maybe summon Death and demand to the entity to revoke her immortality but, besides the tiny detail that she didn’t have a clue about how to do the summoning, she wasn’t suicidal enough to do defy Death like that.

So, after she’d screamed and raged and cried and cursed until she passed out by sheer exhaustion, Aria contacted her best friends and informed them of everything, from her meeting with Death, to the dreams, to her most recent and unwelcome discover.

After the initial denial and arguing was done…

_‘Are you absolutely sure, Aria? What books did you consult?’_

_‘Blimey, mate. Death, really? As in… Death?’_

_‘The most powerful wizards and witches always age slower… maybe it’s something like that?’_

…Their reactions were pretty much what she expected, but not for that less painful to experience.

Ron, always the most impulsive and direct of her best friends, went on a long rant about what he thought of Death, Dumbledore, and even Voldemort. And then, after he’d run out of air and shockingly vulgar words, he threw himself in one of the couches and, looking utterly defeated, pointed out how bad was going to be the reaction of the rest of the Wizarding World if they ever found their savior was – for all intents and purposes – immortal.

Unlike his fiancé, Hermione, her always logical best friend, went into one of her crazy-library-research-mode, refusing to believe her situation was permanent until after she’d combed through every book at her disposal – and, taking into account that she had access to the libraries of four Noble and Most Ancient Houses plus Hogwarts’, that was a lot of research, even for Hermione. 

But it was Neville’s reaction the one that affected her the most. Unlike the rest, he just sat down beside her, holding her hand in his while he promised her that, no matter what happened, he would stand beside her, like he’d done since the very beginning. Because it was her sweet, loyal and always sensible best friend who understood, probably more than anyone else in the whole world, just what this – immortality – would mean for someone like her, someone who, after growing up utterly alone, had carved herself a family through the bond of friendship and was so very afraid of being alone again. 

In the end, after a lot more arguing and researching, the four of them came to the unavoidable and unquestionable conclusion that Aria was immortal. And, to their general distress, that meant her days living in Britain were numbered. 

It was an easy conclusion to reach.

If Aria didn’t want to end up hunted, the title of Master of Death needed to remain a legend among the people of the Wizarding World and the true power of the Hallows had to stay a secret to everyone except the four them – three of which would take the secret to their graves without hesitation – which meant her new ageless status had to remain a secret too, even among their closest and trusted friends.

Sadly, there was only one way to ensure nobody found out her secret.

Aria Potter, savior of the Wizarding World, needed to stay as far away as possible from it.

* * *

**& &&//00//&&&**

* * *

Aria didn’t leave right away.

It was one thing to know, in theory, what she needed to do, but it was another entirely to actually do it. Especially when you took into consideration all the responsibilities that tied her to the Wizarding World and England.

The most significant and important one was her godson, Teddy Lupin.

The day she’d meet him for the first time, back when he was still an adorable little baby with his bright blue hair and big eyes, Aria had held him – feeling a bit awkward and afraid – and cried – big, ugly tears – because history was repeating itself with them. Once more there was a young and inexperienced godparent, who had been broken by a war that had killed a lot of their loved ones, who were suddenly responsible for an orphaned baby and had no idea of what to do about it.

Aria and Teddy, the only descendants of The Marauders, were reflections of what war did to families.

So she’d cried. For him. For her. For them. And then, after she’d calmed down and had felt mostly sane, she’d promised him that, no matter what happened, she would always be there for him, be a part of his life, be his family, in the way she’d wished Sirius would have been.

Merlin knew she’d loved Sirius – love him still with an intensity that almost hurt – but she wasn’t blind to his faults. And she refused to repeat his mistakes.

Teddy Lupin would grow up knowing her as a permanent part of his family. She would be a parent, an older sibling and a best friend, all rolled up together, for him.

It hadn’t been exactly easy. By law, Aria, as the only godparent, was Teddy’s sole guardian. And being thrust into that role at seventeen, even excluding the trauma the war had left in her, wasn’t an easy feat. In those first months, she’d had more than one breakdown and had felt like a failure almost every time Teddy had cried for no apparent reason. But, little by little, she’d learned how to act in her new role.

And, frankly, she wouldn’t have made it without all the help she’d received, especially from Andromeda.

By all intents and purposes, Andromeda had more than enough reasons to dislike her. After all, Aria was the reason behind why Sirius had been killed, she’d brought the war to Andromeda’s doorstep and had been unable to save her husband, daughter, and son-in-law. And, after that, she’d been granted the custody of Andromeda’s only grandson. Honestly, she would hate herself in Andromeda’s shoes.

But the only thing Andromeda had done was ask to be a part of Teddy’s and Aria’s lives.

And for that, she deserved an explanation.

“So you plan to take my grandson away and do what exactly? Travel from city to city, never setting roots, staying far away from the Wizarding World in hopes that nobody ever recognizes you.” Andromeda demanded, her pursed lips and the frown on her forehead giving away very clearly what she thought about the situation. At that moment, her connection with Bellatrix stood out all the more.

Aria sighed, refusing to back down.

The older woman was a Black, regardless of her actual surname, and would never accept her point if she thought Aria wasn’t one hundred percent sure of her decision. So, even if it was for the three thousand and one times in the last hour, she’d to defend her point and make her see reason. “It’s not like I’ve a choice”

She hadn’t told Andromeda about the Hallows or the Master of Death nonsense, only about the not-going-to-age bit, explaining it as a consequence of her death, which it was true, kind of. But even after arguing her point for over an hour, Andromeda didn’t seem any less inclined to agree with her.

“Maybe you’re right and this decision is going to ensure Teddy and I would never have a normal life but, as it stands, this is the only way we would be able to live in peace… to not be accosted day and night by the media and the rest of our society” Aria insisted fiercely, her bright green eyes boring into Andromeda’s “And after everything, I deserve that. Teddy deserves that.”

Andromeda looked away, clenching her jaw in a familiar stubborn gesture she’d seen in Sirius, Tonks and even Teddy. And Aria knew she just needed one more push. “This doesn’t mean our arrangement has to change. You’re Teddy’s grandmother and the doors of our home, no matter where that is, will always be open to you.”

For a long moment, the older woman didn’t move or react in any way until, finally, she nodded once. “But you’ve to promise we’ll spend together all the holidays… And Teddy has to come back to study at Hogwarts and… and if I ever found out you’re not raising my grandson like a proper wizard, there’ll be hell to pay.”

Laughing, she nodded. She'd no words to describe how relieved she felt with Andromeda's acceptance, it was almost like she could breathe for the first time in a long time. “Of course”

* * *

**& &&//00//&&&**

* * *

They left shortly after Hermione and Ron’s wedding.

Everyone who didn’t know her secret – and Luna, who had an uncanny ability to know everything – was under the firm impression that she was going on an extended vacation. In the minds of everyone, she’d decided to do a little tour through the world now that everything had settled down and she could enjoy some time to herself; she was traveling with Teddy because there was no way she would leave her godson behind while she went on vacation and she was taking Kreacher with them because, well, the little house elf had developed a strong attachment to her and leave him alone would be cruel.

Because of that, they didn’t make a fuss about her departure, at least no more than normal.

In their minds, this was a temporal thing. A few months, maybe a year, but no more. They’d no idea that, after this, she would not be able to go back and settled down in England. At least not for a few centuries.

The only ones who knew the truth had embraced them as they said goodbye, promising to visit them as often as possible and vowing to always be there for them, no matter what.

Five years after the defeat of Voldemort, Aria, Teddy, and Kreacher appeared away from England, knowing they weren’t going to come back.

Not in a long time.

* * *

**& &&//00//&&&**

* * *

They traveled for years, going from one country to another, never staying in one place for more than a few months.

Normally, that kind of lifestyle would be almost impossible to keep up but money wasn’t an issue for her. With the vast fortunes of the Potter, Black and Peverell families at her disposal, Aria could live luxuriously for several lifetimes without having a need for a job. But the idea of sitting tight and doing nothing had never sat well with her, which was why she’d made several highly profiled investments when she’d lived in England. And that was something she kept on doing as they traveled around the world, investing in those dreams and small businesses that only needed an injection of cash to become something great.

If she was truly honest, she’d to admit that those years were very happy ones.

Leaving England behind gave her a sense of freedom she hadn’t thought she needed until she got it. They traveled, explored and learned everything the wizarding and muggle world had to offer them, changing names and pretending to be whoever they wanted. Every day became a new adventure.

For years, they traveled without stopping or looking back.

And then, almost without realizing it, Teddy turned eleven and his letter for Hogwarts came.

Suddenly, it was time for Teddy to go back to England and time for Aria and Kreacher to settle down somewhere else for a while.

In those circumstances, the idyllic town of Mystic Falls, Virginia seemed like the perfect choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?


	2. Let me show you a little bit of magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Thank you for the amazing response to the prologue!! You've no idea how much I smiled last week every time I saw someone posted a comment, left kudos or bookmarked this story! You guys made me very happy indeed!  
> Ps: Stay safe!! Best wishes to you and your family!

#  **CHAPTER I**

**LET ME SHOW YOU A LITTLE BIT OF MAGIC**

**_995 A.D._ **

_There was the briefest of moments in between saying the spell and seeing the actual result, in which Ingrid was able to feel how her magic – a deep and integral part of her – came alive inside of her to answer her commands. And were those short, oh so short, moments which always made her smile._

_Because there was nothing like feeling her magic coming alive to hum and thrum through her whole body._

_That’s why, as she watched the withered forest glade revive under the power of her magic, Ingrid couldn’t help but laugh, loud and free. Magic was truly a wonderful thing._

_“Extraordinaire” said a familiar voice, pulling her out of her little world._

_She turned around, smiling at the newcomer. “Always the tone of surprise”_

_“It’s not my fault you keep progressing so fast” he defended himself in mock outrage, the wide smile on his face betraying his true emotions. “You only have thirteen winters and know so much magic it’s incredible…. I couldn’t do that at your age” He paused as a self-degrading smile painted itself in his face “I still can’t and I’m two winters older than you”_

_The hurt in his eyes was real, she knew. After all the things his father – her uncle; the man who had raised her like she was his own along with all his children– forced him to endure almost daily, it wasn’t fair that, even when Mikael wasn't around, he still felt inadequate in comparison to the rest of them. And she refused to see him suffer like that, not when she’d the power to do something about it. “You only need to practice more. I can show you if you want, Niklaus”_

_The smile in his face at that moment was blinding. “I would like that” he said as he sat beside her in the sod. “Tell me what to do”_

_She nodded as she put her hands in the soil again, feeling how the patch of lawn around her died as she took her magic back. “You need to focus on your magic, let it flow through you to the nature around us.”_

_He frowned in concentration as he put his hands next to hers. A moment passed and then another and then he sighed, his shoulders dropping in disappointment. “I told you I’m not good enough… I’m not like you or Kol… Magic is not for me.” Nothing is, he didn’t say, but he might as well had with how clearly she was able to read it on his expression._

_“Of course you can” she protested, ignoring property as she put her hands on top of his, feeling how warm they were. “Focus on your magic” She ordered as she closed her eyes and focused all her attention on her magic, feeling how it grew as it intertwined it with Niklaus’s and they became one. And then she gently guided his – their – power to the ground and willed Mother Nature to come back to this place, for it to be alive – beautiful and brilliant – once more._

_When she opened her eyes and looked around, she threw her head back and laughed aloud in amazement. The patch of lawn was not only green once more, but it was filled with flowers of all colors. It was a lovely sight._

_“Beautiful”_

_At his words, she turned around, still smiling, and tilted her head to the side in confusion when she realized Niklaus was looking at her instead of the flower-filled-clearing around them._

_Slowly, he extended his slightly shaking hand to tuck a lock of black hair behind her ear. Holding her gaze with his blue eyes, he repeated in a whisper. “Beautiful”_

_And in that moment, with his hand in her cheek and his clear blue-green eyes locked on her emerald green eyes, she felt something, as powerful and wonderful as magic itself, humming and thrumming through her whole body, especially on her heart._

_Caught on the moment, she couldn’t do anything but smile at him, and her smile only grew as he smiled back, equally entranced._

* * *

**& &&//01//&&&**

* * *

Aria jerked awake with a loud gasp, sitting up abruptly when she felt how her magic was practically dancing around her, making most objects in her vicinity float in the air in the process, in response to her dream. With a tired sigh, she closed her eyes as she focused on her magic, visualizing in the eye of her mind her entire room and forcing every object to go back to their places as her magic retreat inside of her, and when she opened her eyes that was exactly what happened. 

Rubbing her eyes in weariness, she tried to remember what her dream had been about – and why it’d made her heart flutter in her chest in the same way it used to do for Cedric Diggory – but, no matter how much she focused, she couldn’t quite remember what her bloody dream had been about. Which wasn't, sadly, anything new. She’d learned over the years that the more effort she put into trying to remember, the less she would actually be able to.

It wasn’t fair nor logical but, then again, her life had stopped making sense when she turned eleven and a half-giant told her she was a witch.

An almost silent pop alerted her on the new presence in her room. “Good morning, Kreacher”

“Mistress is shaking again… Nasty dreams don’t let mistress rest” Kreacher lamented, ignoring her greeting in favor of opening her big window’s curtains with a snap of his fingers and then levitating a tray with hot chocolate and some scones to her lap. “Mistress needs lots of food to be strong. Kreacher cooked a proper breakfast for mistress, would mistress prefer to eat here or in the muggle dining room mistress is so fond of?”

Aria smiled warmly at him.

They’d had their up and downs since they met – a big understatement really – but she’d come to love the elf fiercely, viewing him as a fundamental part of her small, mismatched and very unorthodox family. And she was secretly very glad that his aging process had slowed down, almost stopping completely, as a result of being bonded to the Master of Death. It was comforting to know Kreacher would stay by her side through the long road they’d ahead of them.

The elf, she knew, loved her deeply too. It showed in the way he was always aware of her moods and needs, knowing even before her when she was in need of something like food or rest. Like the hot chocolate and the scones for example. That was a tradition Kreacher had started years before, when he’d figure it out just how badly disoriented she could be after a dream. So, every day, he would pop in her bedroom when he felt she’d woken up and give her his delicious hot chocolate – the little elf’s special and secret recipe – and a little treat as a way to remind her of the here and now.

“In the dining room, please.” She took a sip of the beverage and hummed appreciably “As delicious as always, Kreacher. Thank you.” 

After a decade of compliments, the elf didn’t blush nor stammered, or froze completely, like he used to do in the beginning. Instead, he pointed her with his finger as he claimed. “Mistress has twenty-five minutes or Kreacher will be back.”

Amused, Aria nodded with a grin. “I’ll hurry up, I promise”

Pleased with her answer, Kreacher nodded and popped out of her room, leaving her with her thoughts once more. Knowing it was better to not go against the elf’s instructions when he was in protective mode, Aria finished her small meal and hastened to get ready for her day.

Twenty minutes later, she was slowly eating her breakfast, which was big enough to fill out Ron, as she scanned the big box of letters Gringotts had sent her that morning.

Her relationship with the goblins had been rocky after the war, even after she'd publicly declared that the goblins had allowed her to break-in their bank because it'd been all part of the plan to overthrow Voldemort’s reign - which had given them an awful lot of public points - and even after she'd paid them back, with interests, for all the damage caused. But, before she’d fled England, she’d been forced to come to a mutual agreement with the goblins. It’d taken long talks, in which she’d been forced to reveal her immortality to them and to agree to give back every goblin-made artifact that was on her vaults, but they’d finally reached a very complicated, detailed and ironclad agreement that was fair and profitable for both parts. 

One of the most practical parts of the agreement had been the mail system they’d created.

The goblins, with some help from Hermione, Bill and her, had created a very complicated, undetectable and indestructible ward to re-direct all the mail, from wizards and muggles alike, addressed to her – or her titles, or any of her fake names, or any of her business, or The Marauder’s Foundation – to the Gringotts Bank in England. There, the goblins had the mission to double-check the mail for curses, threats, enchantments, hoaxes and a number of other things. Only after that, every ten days, the globin manager of all her vaults, Ragnuk, would send her a box with her correspondence, as well as Gringotts’ update of her accounts and finances, to the location she was at the moment. After the box appeared, she had five days to go over everything and write back the appropriate responses before the box would pop back to Ragnuk, who made sure every letter was delivered to the person to whom it was addressed in the next three days.

The system wasn’t perfect – there were times when the size alone of the box tired her out – and it required a lot of trust on her part, even with the iron-clad confidential agreement on place, not to mention that the globin’s fee was ludicrous, but it was very effective and that was all that mattered. 

The box for that day wasn’t the biggest one she’d seen, it wasn’t even in the top twenty. But even still, she expertly ignored all the other letters and went straight to Teddy's, smiling when she noticed how the parchment seemed empty at first glance, knowing this particular enchantment was one of the very few actually allowed to pass through the system.

“I solemnly swear I am up to no good” she said, touching the letter with her index finger and watching how the familiarly uneven but kind of elegant penmanship of her son appeared on the parchment.

_Hi Mum!_

_Hope this letter finds you super-extra-ultra-mega great._

_I also hope you enjoyed a very happy valentine day! Did my present arrived on time? I tried to coordinate everything with the shop so it would be delivered on February 14 th but you never know with the international owl-delivery-service._

_On that note, don’t you think it is crazy how much time it takes for my letters to reach you? I’ve to wait more than two weeks for your reply!!... And I was thinking, instead of sending you my letters through the goblins, maybe you can make me a mirror like the one you use to communicate with grandma and the others? That way we can talk every day! Please mum, I miss you. I’m going nuts without talking to you. (And if you tell anyone I said that I swear I would disown you as my mother, big sister, godmother, and all-around favorite person ever!)_

_I know we talked about this at Christmas but… would it be really so bad if I’m homeschooled? Nothing has changed, mum. Everyone still stares at me like I’m the bloody reincarnation of Merlin or something. Even the people from Gryffindor act all weird around me and the kids from my year only know how to pester me with stupid questions about you.… I don’t like it here, mum. If grandma is so bent on me having a formal education – not like it bloody matters as I’m the best in my year by a long shot and that’s all because of your lessons – I can always go to Ilvermorny next year, I heard their houses are way cooler than Hogwarts! Just… think about it, okay?_

_Anyway, what exciting news do you have for me? Are those crazy vamps still prowling around the city? And what about those ‘mostly’ well behave brother-vamps? Are they still on the bunny/blood bag diet? Oh, what happened with that family of wiccans you told me about? The grandmother died, right? Did you finally took pity on the young and inexperienced new wiccan and introduce yourself to her? Tell me everything! I expect your next letter to be at least ten feet long, and it needs to include all the gory and gruesome details. It’s not fair you get to live in the most supernatural muggle city ever while I’m stuck in school._

_All my love,_

_Teddy._

_Ps. Send my love to Kreacher! And tell him to go outside and enjoy the sunshine from time to time, it’s good for his skin!_

_Ps 2. Uncle Nev send me a letter the other day, telling me all about how the four of you – including aunt Hermione!!! – used his knowledge of rare plants to prank poor unsuspecting people. Did you guys really turned your potions professor’s hair all the colors of the rainbow with a rare plant from South America? I’m so going to copy that idea._

_Ps. 3. Do I really have to spend the Easter holidays with grandma? I know it’s because the both of you want me to start knowing the ropes of the Marauder’s Foundation but she’s going to end up dragging me to the Weasley’s. And then all of them are going to ask about you and why don’t you come back already, or why don’t you marry off to a proper wizard and have a couple of kids, or other idiotic things like that. You don’t want that for me, right? Remember that I’m your only son, mum!_

Aria put down the letter with a heavy sigh, feeling oh so tired all of sudden.

Teddy’s letter wasn’t exactly a surprise, no after complaining about Hogwarts in every letter for the last months, but it was the first time, besides their conversation on Christmas break, he’d let her see the true deep of his loneliness.

She exhaled loudly, trying to contain her instincts and break the international law of magical travel by creating an illegal portkey to England. It wasn’t easy. Not when it was clear how much her son needed her.

Not for the first time, she cursed the unfairness of it all.

She’d sent Teddy to Hogwarts not only because of the promise she’d made to Andromeda, but because the school was a fundamental part of the education of every young witch and wizard. Teddy, like Remus and Tonks and her before him, deserved to go to the ancient castle and make friends of his age, go on incredible adventures, learn magic under some of the best witches and wizards on the world and expand his horizons.

But she hadn't taken into account how her fame would affect him. Her son had grown up without the scrutinizing eye of the media, far away from the stares and the whispers that had shadowed her footsteps since she was eleven, and his first impression of Hogwarts had been tainted by all the people who had only seemed interested in him because he was the adopted son of the Girl-Who-Conquered. When he'd first complained about it, Aria had hoped Teddy would eventually find true friends like she’d done but, instead, he’d closed off from everyone, refusing to allow himself to connect with his classmates, spending his first months on the school utterly alone. And when Christmas break had come, he’d all but begged her to homeschooled instead. 

It didn’t help that, with the exception of her best friends, their kids, and Andromeda – who had faithfully visit them as often as they could – Teddy’s sole company growing up had been Aria and Kreacher. During all his formative years, she’d been her son’s best friend and only confidant, and he wasn’t taking the separation as well as she’d hoped.

She didn’t want Teddy to be dependent on her – that’s why she hadn’t given him a communication mirror in the first place – but it was obvious she needed to do something, because she wasn’t about to allow her son to continue suffering like this. There weren’t many options, not when she refused to pull Teddy out of Hogwarts due to the fact that she was sure he only needed a push in the right direction to find friends and start to truly enjoy his school days. 

Really, at that moment, considering all the other options, a mirror sounded like a good compromise. Decision made, she put the letter down and made a mental list to buy an appropriate mirror in the school carnival of Mystic Falls.

“Mistress has not finish her breakfast”

The pointed remark brought her back from her thoughts and she wasted no time in relaying Teddy’s message to Kreacher. She watched, fondly amused, how the elf puffed his cheeks as he replied. “Little brat has manners. Mistress taught him well.”

Teddy’s relationship with Kreacher was an interesting one. Teddy was the biological son of a werewolf and the half-blood daughter of the disowned blood-traitor daughter of the House of Black, and therefore, in Kreacher’s eyes, a half-breed disgrace. But Teddy was also her godson and by the time he’d come under her guardianship, Kreacher had loved her enough to put aside his prejudice and help her in taking care of him. After that, the official adoption and Teddy’s warm disposition towards the elf had guarantee Kreacher’s reluctance acceptance of him as family, even if the elf refused to refer to him as his young master. According to the grumpy elf, Aria was, and would always be, his only mistress, period.

“Does mistress plans to stay inside the house going over her very important mail? Or is she still insisting on going out to the filthy muggle carnival filled with loathsome half-breeds, disgusting servants of nature and dirty muggles?”

“You know they’re not that bad, Kreacher” The elf’s expression all but said ‘Yes, they are, but mistress is too kind to think otherwise’, so she decided against keep fighting a losing battle. “I’m going to the school after I finish my breakfast. I promised my help to the students on the carnival committee”

The elf sighed like she was been the unreasonable one. “As mistress wishes” And then, after a pointed glance to the semi-finished breakfast, the elf promptly popped out the room

Smiling slightly and feeling in a much lighter mood, she lifted her fork and focused on her delicious breakfast once more.

* * *

**& &&//01//&&&**

* * *

“Do you think they’ll need more banners?”

The familiar British voice pulled Alaric out of his chaotic thoughts – which included his not-so-dead ex-wife (did vampirism still made him a widower?) and the even bigger mess he’d made of his life since he’d arrived in Mystic Falls – and brought him back to the present.

He scanned the classroom filled with banners, balloons, hand-made gifts, and dozens of other things he didn’t remember seen since he was a child. Right. He’d offered himself as a volunteer to the committee of the school carnival. And, instead of day-dreaming, he was supposed to be helping with the preparations for that night.

More importantly, he focused on the only other member of the faculty who had volunteered alongside him.

Aria Black.

The raven-haired beauty was a couple of feet away from him, her bright and beautiful emerald green eyes focused on him as she pointed, with a mildly exasperated expression, to the small pile of banners over the table. Oh, that’s right. She’d asked him about the banners. “No. I think that’s enough.” 

“Are you sure?”

Alaric raised an eyebrow, surprised by the first hint of insecurity he’d seen in her in all the months since they’d met. Maybe it was because of that he actually took his time to check, counting mentally, the small pile of banners once more – getting impressed by how much she’d managed to do in the time they’d been there – before declaring firmly. “Completely. The kids aren’t going to know what to do with so many of them.”

She smiled brightly, relieved, her whole face lighting up and becoming even more impossibly beautiful, as she finally nodded. “Good. I don’t want to do anything wrong.”

There was something about the way she said those words…. “Your school never had a carnival?”

“Oh, no. We didn’t have anything like this. The most we’d was a feast for the important dates, you know, like the welcome back feast, Halloween and things like that.”

He hummed noncommittal, wondering what kind of school made a _feast_ to celebrate Halloween. A really fancy one, he supposed. And, not for the first time, Alaric wondered what kind of secrets where hidden in the past of the mysterious British resident of Mystic Falls.

It was common knowledge why she’d decided to settle down on Mystic Falls.

Aria was the eldest daughter of a very wealthy family from England. The same family who had created The Marauder’s Foundation, a very well-known and respected non-profit international organization that was focused on helping children, teenagers, and young adults, from all parts of the world. According to the rumor-mill, her parents had died when she and her little brother were very young and their guardian had died shortly before she’d turned eighteen, leaving her in charge of the family’s assets and her young brother, who studied in a boarding school in Scotland for the most part of the year. After that, she’d decided to move as far away as she could, arriving in Mystic Falls when she’d been barely eighteen years old. Since then, she’d proved herself to be a mature and kind young woman, not getting into any sort of trouble and helping in all the local charitable work she could.

That was what most knew about her.

Alaric knew a little bit more thanks to her part-time job as a self-defense teacher in Mystic High.

For what he’d gathered when he’d transferred, she’d donated to the school an entirely new building, completely equipped, for the sole purpose of teaching different kinds of arts, like sculpture, dance, paint, and many others; and, in return, she'd asked if she could teach self-defense to those who wished to learn. Overwhelmed, the school principal had readily accepted. Alaric had actually stopped a couple of times to watch her classes and had to admit being impressed with her natural ability as a teacher as well as her skill as a fighter, it was crazy how she could put down people thrice her size without effort.

But for all her open disposition to help whenever she could, Aria was a very, very private person. Beyond polite interactions, the young girl didn’t mingle with anyone in town. The young green eye beauty smiled and was pleasant to everyone who approached her, but there was a certain kind of aloofness in her every action that warned off people from getting emotionally close to her.

In a way, he could understand why. Aria didn’t fit with any of the kids of her age, who were still in school and didn’t have the ability to empathize with the kind of life she’d been through. For them, Aria was the hottest teacher in the school, strict and fair when she was giving them lessons she dominated like it was the back of her hand, and just as unreachable as a pipe dream. And he could see how trying to be friends with someone like him, who was almost fifteen years her senior, would be unappealing for someone who was, for all purposes, still a teenager. 

But he could relate very well to the pain of losing a loved one and knew better than most why someone would up and leave their whole life behind, which is why he always tried to get to know her better, even if it was limited to small talk about school activities for now, because, one day, he wouldn’t mind sit down and talk to someone who _understood_. Even if he could never tell her the whole truth about vampires and all the other supernatural crazy stuff.

“Then you should definitely go to the carnival. It would be a good experience for someone of your age” 

Aria laughed out loud, obviously very amused. And, honestly, with how pretty she looked, it was no wonder the kids on the school were always tripping over themselves to get on her good side. “You make it sound like I’m a child”

He shrugged. “You’re eighteen. Still very young.”

Her eyes flashed with something like sadness for a moment, but it was gone so fast he thought he’d imagine it. And then she was grinning, teasingly. “And how old are you exactly? Eighty-one?”

“Hahaha. You’re hilarious.” He replied rolling his eyes, even if his mouth twitched a little in his effort to contain his grin. “I’ll have you know that I’m thirty-four.”

“Are you sure? You look like way past your forties.” She mocked, green eyes dancing with mischief.

“How dare you? That’s no way to talk to your elders, young lady!”

There was a pause, in which their eyes met for a second, and, in the next instant, they were both laughing at the absurdity of it all. Deep and loud laughs left his body, making him forget, for the first time in a long time, of the mess that was his life.

Of course, one of the sources of said mess chose that moment to come knocking the door. 

“You two seem like you’re having fun”

Elena was standing on the door frame of the classroom, her eyes curious and assessing as she appraised the scene in front of her, and Alaric could feel how his whole body tensed due to her presence. It wasn’t that he disliked her. Her bizarre choice of loving a vampire aside, Elena was a kind and intelligent human girl who didn’t deserve the supernatural trouble that seemed to follow her footsteps. But seeing her remind her of Isobel and he wasn’t ready to confront that.

Not yet.

“Hello there, Elena” Aria greeted. Her smile was friendly and polite but distant, much different from how it’d been a moment before “Do you need our help with something?” 

“Oh, no. Everything is under control” Elena smiled, sunny and innocent. A little bashful, she took out a small camera and asked. “Do you guys mind if I took a picture of you?”

Alaric raised an eyebrow, surprised. “I didn’t know you were also part of the yearbook committee, Elena”

“Oh, no” the young girl reassured, still smiling “But Caroline wants a picture of everyone who helped with the carnival. She wants to make a scrapbook or something. And she threatened to kill me if I didn’t get her at least a picture of the two of you.”

“That sounds like her” concurred Aria, looking amused once more "She threatened to fire me when I misplaced for a little while some of the decorations for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, never mind that I was volunteering" 

Alaric smiled because, yeah, that sounded exactly like Caroline Forbes. "Do we've to pretend to work or do you want us to look into the camera?"

"Looking at the camera will be better" Elena assured, entering to the classroom but still keeping a good distance from them "Big smiles, please"

The pictures didn’t take much time and, soon, Elena was shouting a quick goodbye as she exited the classroom, leaving them alone with a bunch of decorations that were still half done.

Aria turned towards him with a smile full of mischief. “Well, shall we continue with our arduous work, old man?”

“We shall, young lady”

* * *

**& &&//01//&&&**

* * *

Aria glanced around the colorful stands, noting absentmindedly how dark it’d gotten.

After they’d finished with the decorations, Alaric and her had toured around the carnival – the history teacher had even helpfully pointed her the different attractions he thought she must try at least once in her life – until he’d received a text message that it'd turned him very pale and then, after offering her a weak excuse, he'd hurried off towards Merlin’s knows where.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. She would bet anything Alaric, the secret vampire hunter slash high school teacher, had gone to deal with whatever new vampire drama had emerged in the town. Because Mystic Falls seemed to have those like no other town she’d know.

It was all a little bonkers, honestly.

She wasn’t exactly sure what was happening. She couldn’t, not when she refused to get involved in a battle that wasn’t her own. But, for what little she could gather, Elena Gilbert, the Salvatore brothers, and Bonnie Bennett were in the heart of everything. She still hadn’t figure it out why a human girl, with no previous experience with the magical world, would voluntarily let herself fall in love with a vampire – because it was very obvious the girl knew about it – or, for that matter, why Damon Salvatore, who had shown time and time again to not care about human life, had stopped drinking directly from his victims. And she still wasn’t sure where Bonnie fit in the puzzle, as the girl seemed to be using her new awaken powers as a wiccan witch – because if she was more experienced, she would be able to pick up Aria’s magic right away –to try fixing every single _vampire_ mess in the city for no other reason besides her friendship with Elena. 

What she did know for sure was that a select portion of the muggles in Mystic Falls knew about the existence of vampires. It was very obvious, not only because of Alaric’s hobby as a vampire hunter, but because the local authorities were constantly trying to cover up the vampire attacks to make them seem like animal attacks. And that was so very dangerous.

It'd been more than six months since she'd started discovering everything that really went down in the apparently normal, boring and muggle town, but she still couldn't decide if she should contact the magical authorities or not. What was happening was technically a violation of the International Statute of Secrecy, as vampires were considered magical creatures and therefore part of the secret; but the muggles didn’t seem to have any idea about magic – their kind of magic – and so, for the time being, she was letting everything unfold without interfering. 

She’d been tempted – oh so tempted – to just obliviate every human who knew about vampires and then put a compulsion charm on the Salvatore brothers so they would stop telling every bloody muggle they came across about the existence of vampires and the supernatural, but she’d refrained, just barely, when she’d realized something. The Salvatore brothers – and, more importantly, the muggles – seemed to be under the impression that vampires and wiccan witches were the extension of the supernatural world and she didn’t see any reason to correct that assumption.

As long as they kept their life-threatening drama far away from her and Teddy, she didn't see any reason to intervene.

Once upon a time, she would have intervened as soon as she'd known what was going on. She would have come running trying to save the day, just because there were innocent lives in danger and _someone_ needed to help them. But she wasn’t that naïve young girl anymore. She’d fight and die for others once, she wasn’t about to do it again.

Besides her loved ones, she refused to play savior for anyone.

Of course, that was when she heard – thanks to her animagus form – cries for help in the distance.

There was the briefest of moments of indecision, as her heart warred with her mind, and then her feet were moving without her permission towards the direction of the cries. In her mind, she cursed her bloody saving-people thing, it'd gotten her into trouble more times than she could count.

She wasn't expecting what she found.

The alley behind the school was dark and would have been empty if not for the human body dumped on the pavement, probably drained to the last drop, Caroline Forbes and Damon Salvatore. What was surprising? The blood covering Caroline, as well as the tears freely running through her cheeks as she begged Damon to help her, repeating over and over again that she hadn’t meant to kill the human, that it’d been an accident. And what did the older vampire did? He promised to help the very obvious new vampire as he hugged her and then took out a stake from his pockets, assuring her it was the only way.

Aria saw red.

In that moment, it didn’t matter her resolution to stay far away from all the vampire drama on the town, or even the little fact that she didn’t know Caroline particularly well. In that moment, she only saw a young girl in over her head, who was scared and confused and was begging for help to someone who didn’t value her life enough to even give her a chance.

She didn't stop to think as she pulled out the elder wand and shouted the first spell it come to her mind. “ _Stupefy_ ”

The dark-haired vampire dropped to the ground, unconscious. And Caroline fell to the ground crying, her blue eyes wide as she took in the stake in the vampire’s hand and the very distinctive wand on Aria’s hand. “Please, Aria” Caroline begged in between cries, hugging herself as she tried to be as small as possible on the ground “I never meant to... please… don’t kill me… I didn’t want…” 

Something inside her heart tugged. It was obvious the girl had been turned very recently, and probably against her will too if her actions were any indication. She was inexperienced, innocent and too young to be caught in the middle of someone else’s fight. And, for a moment, Aria saw Caroline on the ground and saw herself when she was seventeen.

She sighed, knowing she wouldn’t be able to turn her back on her. Not now. So, she put her wand back on her concealed forearm-holster and tried to smile as friendly and reassuringly as she could. “I’m not going to hurt you, Caroline” she promised with her softest voice, extending a hand to the distressed new-born vampire in a clear invitation “If you let me, I can help you”

“Why would you do that? We aren’t friends.” Caroline demanded warily, her watered eyes carefully tracking her movements.

“Because I wish someone who knew what they were doing had stopped to help me when I was seventeen and scared out of my mind” she replied, honestly.

With her eyes still locked on hers, Caroline slowly took her hand.

Aria smiled as she took firmly the vampire’s hand. “This will be uncomfortable only for a moment, I promise” And, without giving her anymore warning, she thought of her house, specifically her living room, and apparate them both away.

The almost silent crack was the only noise in the alley for a long moment. Until Stefan and Elena came running, closely followed by Bonnie and Alaric. All of them stopped at the sight in front of them, from Damon unconscious figure to the dead body of one of the carnival workers, with no sign of Caroline nearby.

Wide-eyed and confused, they traded glances as they wondered what the hell had happened.

* * *

**& &&//01//&&&**

* * *

Caroline’s expression after her first side-along apparition had been funny enough. The blond girl had stumbled over her own feet with a small shriek - and she got respect points for no going tumbling to the ground as most people did – as she tried, over and over, to stay upright on the marble floor of her living room, and then, when the vertigo had finally passed away, she’d looked around her with wide-eyes full of wonder.

But Caroline’s expression after seeing Kreacher for the first time? That had been downright hilarious.

When the elf had popped into the room, she fell on the nearest love seat and stared at him without blinking, with her mouth wide open, like she couldn’t believe what was in front of her. It was only the sneer Kreacher was very pointedly aiming in her direction what had brought her out of her stupor. “ _What is that?_ ”

“ _He_ is Kreacher” Aria corrected, putting gently a hand on the elf’s head “He’s a house-elf”

“Kreacher is mistress Aria’s elf” corrected Kreacher puffing his chest, sniffing disdainfully in Caroline’s direction “Not like a filthy half-breed would know anything about it”

“Hey!” the blonde protested, understanding the insult he'd thrown at her.

“Kreacher, please, no more insults. Caroline is my friend now.”

The look of horror on the elf’s face would have been amusing in any other moment. “Mistress is collecting dirty stray half-breeds now” he lamented despairingly.

Knowing they needed to change the direction of the conversation or they would be stuck there forever, Aria hurried to ask “Can you bring me blood-bags from the hospital? Please, I need at least a couple of dozens.”

The elf sighed, throwing her a long-suffering look, but a moment later his shoulders dropped like he'd given up and resign himself to accomplish something almost impossible. “As mistress wishes” And then popped out without another word. 

“You’re a witch”

Aria turned around to look at Caroline, who – despite being still covered in blood – managed to look quite dignify as she watched her every action with cautious eyes. With her eyes locked on the blonde’s, she nodded. “I am”

In a rush, Caroline breathed out, not in disbelief but in complete surprise. “But… how? I know a witch and she… she doesn’t… she is nothing like you”

“Ah, yes. Bonnie Bennett.” At Caroline’s alarmed expression, she was quick to reassure her “Don’t fret, dear. I’d known since the very beginning about your friend. It’s something easy to know with my ability to feel the magic around me…. And to answer your question, your friend is a wiccan witch, her kind is completely different from mine. I’m a wand-wielder witch.”

That was a gross understatement. The vast majority of the wizarding world didn’t even consider wiccan as true witches and wizards, evidenced by the fact their society wasn’t protected for the International Statute of Secret. For the wizarding world, wiccans were little more than muggles with the ability to pick up the magic in the nature around them, and due to that, they should be ruled by muggle laws, not theirs. But she wasn’t about to tell Caroline any of that.

The blonde in question was biting her lip as she went through everything that had happened. “And you don’t… you don’t think I am a monster?”

“Why the hell would I think that?” Aria demanded, frowning in confusion.

“Oh, please” the vampire snorted, hugging herself once more as she lowered her head in shame and remorse “You clearly know what I am now…. And you saw that body in the alley… You know I’m a murderer. I’m a murderous and vicious blood-sucking monster.”

“I don’t think you’re a monster just because you killed someone. It would be very hypocritical of me if I did. After all, the first time I killed someone, I was eleven years old”

Aria wasn’t sure why she was opening up to someone who was basically a complete stranger but she knew it was the right thing to do if she wanted the young vampire to understand that she wasn’t, in any way or shape, a so-called monster. And, honestly, it felt good to say those words, to finally acknowledge something she’d always known but had never had the courage to say out loud. 

At her words, Caroline’s head snapped towards her.

“It’s a long story but to cut it short… He was a dark wizard that was trying to kill me. I was being protected by an ancient magic that burned everything that touched me, so I grabbed him by his face and refused to let go until he died, no matter how much he cried for me to stop… And only when he fell to the ground did I realize what I had done, what I had become.”

Caroline’s lip trembled, like she was about to start crying again, but she shook her head in denial. “That was completely different! You were trying to protect yourself! It was self-defense. And what I did… What I did was murder.”

It was Aria’s turn to shake her head. “It’s not that simple, taking a life never is. At the end of the day, we both killed someone and we both did it for the same basic instinct. Survival.”

“Survival” Caroline scoffed “What does it have to do draining a person of every single drop of blood on their body with survival?”

“You’re a vampire now” she reminded her, sitting next to her “You need to drink blood so your body can keep working normally”

“Oh, that’s right. I am not only a murderous blood-sucking monster, but I am also dead. That’s just great.”

Aria huffed, mildly exasperated. 

The young girl was clearly set on the idea that she was now a monster. And she couldn’t entirely fault her for that, not when she’d been murdered and changed against her will, had woken up in a world where everything – from her body to her very instincts – was different; where her craving for blood surpassed every other desire and need, and where she was capable of murder without even realizing just to satiate that craving. After all, that was the nature of a vampire and there was no changing that. But that didn't automatically mean every vampire was a soulless monster, and she needed to make Caroline understand that.

A moment later, inspiration struck her. “You're not a monster, Caroline” Aria declared as she took out her wand. “Let me show you”

“What do you mean?”

Slowly, knowing she’d to be very careful with this, she put the tip of her wand over Caroline’s heart and whispered a single word. “ _Sonorus_ ”

The effect was instant.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

“Did you hear that?” Aria asked, staring into Caroline’s teary blue eyes. “That’s your heart, Caroline. And it’s beating.”

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

“Just because you’re vampire doesn’t mean that you’re a monster. You’re still a living being, Caroline. And that means you aren’t define by what you are, but for your choices and feelings. And do you know what I see right now? I see a young girl who feels scared and regretful, who made a mistake and lost control of her new nature, but who still have a good and kind heart. I don’t see a monster anywhere.”

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Seeing the hope and light that was slowly entering the young girl’s eyes, Aria couldn’t help but see again a little of herself in the blonde in front of her. Her situations weren’t the same and yet, both had been changed into something different and pushed into an unknown path without their say so. With that in mind, Aria decided to tell Caroline something she wished someone would have said to her when she’d first realized she wasn’t aging anymore, back when she'd been oh so very afraid of what her future hold. “You have an immortal life ahead of you, Caroline. A long life to fall in love, make mistakes, travel the whole world, make new friends and, more importantly, to live your life to its fullest. So don’t get stuck on the past and what-ifs. Just keep moving forward, one step at the time... because there’s a world full of endless possibilities out there just for you, Caroline.”

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

In between one moment and the next, the baby vampire had thrown herself to Aria, who hugged her tightly and let her cry on her shoulder, feeling her heart tug painfully in her chest as she promised to herself that she would be there for Caroline in every step of her way as she adapted to her new vampire life. 

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

“It’s going to be okay, I promise. I'll make sure of it.”

* * *

**& &&//01//&&&**

* * *

“Are you sure you want me to do this, Katherine?”

“I’m sure, Isobel” she replied without hesitation.

She was tired of running. After five hundred years, she was more than ready to have her freedom back and she wasn’t willing to wait anymore. Not for anything or anyone. After all, she finally had everything she needed to make the perfect deal to bargain for her freedom with Klaus.

In front of her, Isobel pursed her lips for a moment, like there was a part of her that was unsure about the plan, but then her face smoothed out and she nodded her head, resolute.

“In that case, I'll find Klaus and pass on your offer, my friend” Isobel promised. “All the ingredients needed to break the Sun and the Moon curse in exchange for your freedom”

Katherine grinned, pleased. “Good”

“You know there’s a possibility he won’t want to take the deal”

“Oh, I know” she assured confidently, because that was something it’d crossed her mind more times than she cared to count and she was prepared for it. “That’s why you’re going to give him this.”

Carefully, Katherine handed Isobel a small box full of camera memory cards and a single printed photo. It’d taken her more time than she'd anticipated to collect all the pictures and videos saved on the memory cards but she’d finally managed to finish that same day. Thank god for that stupid carnival and Elena's two goody shoes nature.

“What’s this?” Isobel asked, taking out the printed photo and scanning it with a mix of curiosity and bewilderment. “Who’s this, Katherine?” she demanded, turning the photo to her even if she was well aware of what she would see.

In the picture, a beautiful dark-haired girl with emerald green eyes was laughing, wide and free, as she looked straight to the camera. And even if the hairstyle and the clothes were different, there was no mistaking who she was. 

“Tell Klaus the Immortal Witch has reborn and I know where to find her” Katherine said, watching how the eyes of her friend grew wide at her words. “Tell him his wife is alive.”

Isobel’s expression turned from amazed to fearful very quickly, and she rushed to ask. “Are you absolutely sure? Because if not….”

“I’m sure” Katherine declared.

And she was.

Ingrid’s face was impossible to forget or confuse. And even if by some random coincidence someone else had born with those exact same delicate features, there was no mistaking those unforgettable emerald green eyes. In five hundred years, she’d never seen those eyes in another person. 

What’s more, the british girl, Aria Black, had the same mannerisms and expressions as Ingrid. Even if Katherine had only spend with them a few weeks, she could distinctly remember her laugh. And for a moment that day, as she took the pictures, she’d been throwback in time to those short weeks in the company of the Original family in the magnificent Mikaelson castle in England.

Isobel must have seen her confidence because she stopped questioning her about it, and instead took a different route in her questions. “After all these centuries, do you really think Klaus is going to put everything else aside and take the deal? Just for her?”

Katherine remembered that soft and adoring look Klaus had reserved only for his wife, how he'd always put a protective arm around her, despite how powerful she'd been on her own right, and how, in his grief for her death, he’d burned to the ground entire cities and torn apart whole countries. And she couldn’t help but laugh, more sure than ever that her freedom was finally within her grasp. “Oh, I am sure”

After all, that kind of love never died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me your thoughts ;D  
> Ps: I'm going to start replying to all your comments from the last chapter in a couple of hours. I need at least a couple of hours of sleep or I'll cry.


	3. Magic is a Wondrous Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the love you gave me with your kudos, and comments and bookmarks! I swear, those things were the best part of my days.  
> I originally planned on posting this by April 18th but my university professors conspired to give me as many assignments as possible. I didn't think it was possible to have so many things to do while locked inside my house but what can't you do.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
> Ps: Hope you and your family are safe!

#  **CHAPTER II**

**MAGIC IS A WONDROUS THING**

**_England, 1492 A.D._ **

_“Are we sure she is the doppelgänger?” Rebekah demanded, brandishing Nik’s letter – made of very easy to rip parchment – with a disturbing amount of strength._

_“The letter said they were sure” Ingrid reminded her gently, understanding the reason behind the growing rage in her sister’s blue eyes. And, knowing Niklaus and Elijah as well as she did, she was sure there was no way they’d made a mistake, not when they were bringing the girl to their home. And, judging by her sister’s scowl, Rebekah knew it too. Glaring at it like she was placing the blame of everything on it, her sister threw the letter with an irritated huff to the center of the round table._

_The original idea of a room with a round table for their most important discussions and decisions as a family had been Elijah’s – It'd been something he'd come up after he read for the first time Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae – and they all had agreed to put it into motion. Now, centuries later, it was a tradition, and requirement, that every single one of their homes had a family study, where you could always found a round table with six chairs. And – because the room was protected by all the enchantments, curses and wards Ingrid and Kol had managed to learn and/or create over the centuries – they also used it to safeguard their family's most invaluable and priceless possessions, like the silver daggers, grimoires, ancient books, rare jewels, and other extremely important magical items._

_“What I want to know is why we’ve to host this girl in our home and pretend to be humans just for her benefit” Kol said from beside her, reclining in his seat so he could throw his feet in the table. “The wench is going to be dead in less than three weeks, I don’t see why we’ve to be bothered with this charade. Why can't we just throw her to the dungeons until the full moon?”_

_“Be a little kinder to the girl, Kol” Finn admonished, pursing his lips in slight disapproval “The girl has a death sentence hanging over her head because of our family. The less we can do is make her last days as pleasant as possible”_

_Kol pouted a little at this, vexed at the idea of being denied about something so insignificant like a human’s life, and he crossed his arms in stubborn defiance, letting them know he wasn’t pleased with their oldest brother opinion._

_But it wasn’t him who was more enraged at Finn’s speech._

_“If you think I’m going to be nice towards that harlot, you’re delusional” Rebekah spat, fiercely._

_“Rebekah! The insult towards the girl is uncalled for” Finn protested, appalled._

_As their sister’s eyes flashed with barely restrained fury, Ingrid decided it was time to intervene and be the voice of the reason; otherwise, her sister’s rant could go on for another century._

_“You don’t know this girl, Bekah. There’s no need to be so harsh.”_

_“Of course there is, sister. This girl is a descendant of that strumpet Tatia and, therefore, she’s the same as her ancestor”_

_Ingrid sighed, looking towards the ceiling instead of replying, knowing very well that there would be no changing Bekah’s mind, not when it involved the only person, besides Mikael, that her sister had truly hated when she was human._

_“Our sister’s centuries-old grudge aside” intercepted Kol smirking “I think that, for the moment, we should leave aside how we are going to treat the wench and focus in what her presence means”_

_They all sobered up at that, knowing perfectly well of what he was speaking about. After a pause, in which they all exchanged meaningful glances, Finn was the first to speak. “Will everything be ready to break the curse in the next full moon?”_

_She and Kol exchanged a loaded glance, having a full conversation with just one look, a pair of raised eyebrows and one single shake of their heads. And then, they both turned to look at their siblings and nodded in perfect synchrony. “The only thing we don’t have is the werewolf…” she started._

_“…Which would be tricky but not impossible to get before the full moon” Kol completed._

_“Good” Finn said, pleased “With the curse broken, our brother will finally be free to enjoy his full nature…. Moreover, Niklaus will gain the power to make an army of hybrids and, hopefully, that will deter our father a little the next time he manages to track us down.”_

_His declaration was a reflection of everyone’s thoughts. After all, Mikael was the only source of fear in their family, and they all knew that Niklaus wanted to break his curse not only because he wanted to enjoy his full nature as a hybrid – like he should have since he'd been turned and made his first kill – but because he wanted to change others werewolves into hybrids and create an army that would protect them. That way, the next time Mikael managed to find them, there would be a barrier, between him and them, in the shape of an army of hybrids._

_“In that case, I suppose I can put up with that trollop” Rebekah conceded after a moment, scowling a little. "But only if she stays as far away as possible from me"_

_“And I can try to be on my best behavior” Kol agreed, sighing in disappointed “Though it's going to be a pity that I won't get the chance to drink from her. I’ve always wondered how doppelgänger’s blood tastes… I bet it’s delicious.”_

_Finn shook his head, exasperated with their siblings’ antics, and focused his attention on her. “What’s the girl’s name, little sister? I think we should start calling her by her proper name if she’s going to be staying with us.”_

_Ingrid hummed, scanning the letter once more. “Oh, here it is. Her name is Kate–”_

_Before she could finish, a timid knock made them all pause and turn in the direction of the door. Even with all the magical protections on place, that wing of their castle was forbidden for all but a selected few, and if they were daring to knock the door of the study then it meant they’d urgent news to share._

_Finn stood up and opened the door on a flash. On the other side stood Rose-Marie, Ingrid’s personal maid, who bowed once before smiling timidly at them. “Excuse me for the interruption, my lords and my ladies” Rose-Marie said “But we just received word that Lord Niklaus and Lord Elijah are going to arrive very soon”_

_“Thank you, Rose” she said, smiling kindly at the vampire, who bowed once more before disappearing in a flash towards the ground floor._

_“Well, no time for discussions now” Kol said, smirking as he stood up “Time to face Tatia’s look-a-like”_

_An hour later, the four of them were standing in the main foyer – elegantly dressed with the finest fabrics and silks, like it was expected from the high-ranking noble family they were posing as – when three persons walked in. She barely paid attention to the only girl in the group, the one farthest away from them, and only spared a quick glance in Elijah’s direction to make sure everything was alright with him, before her eyes seeking the ones of the lone figure on the front, the one who had already his eyes pinned on her._

_There was a single moment, frozen in time, when their eyes met across the room, blue-green clashing with emerald green, and then they were both running towards the other as fast as it was humanly possible. Niklaus reached her first, spinning her around the room and making her laugh aloud, delighted. A moment later, he put her down, hugging her fiercely against his chest as he inhaled her scent. “I’ve missed you, my love”_

_Ingrid didn’t have his heightened senses but, after so many centuries, the combined scents of fresh paint, coconut, and something else that was essentially him, made her melt her against him, knowing everything was alright now that he was back after so many weeks apart. In his arms, she was home again. “And I missed you, dearest”_

_She felt his hand cupping her cheek, making her look up and get lost in his beautiful blue-green eyes. It was almost unbelievable sometimes, after all their centuries together, how irrevocably in love she was with him. How a touch, a caress, a kiss could send her heart soaring and make her skin shiver, anxious for more. It should probably terrify her, how deep and unconditional it was her love for him, but it didn’t. Because when she stared into his eyes all she could see was his love for her and she knew he loved her just as much. So, when he bent down to kiss her, she stood on her tiptoes and throw her arms around his neck to kiss him back with equal fervor. There was a familiarity in the way their lips moved, dancing with synchronized steps they’d perfected as the years went by, but her stomach still did flip-flops when their tongues met and her whole body still tingled with reckless need at the way he dominated the kiss, his lips and tongue moving with a passion that only seemed to grow as the years passed. And when he sucked on her tongue in that way that made her crazy, she completely forgot where they were._

_But, of course, the rest of the world didn’t forget about them._

_Someone cleared their throat. Loudly._

_“What are we? Chopped liver?” demanded Kol, indignant “Where is my greeting, Nik?”_

_They broke apart, lips swollen and panting slightly, and shared an exasperated look, well-accustomed to the fun their siblings got out of interrupting their romantic moments. With a resigned sigh, Nik pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Later” he promised in a whisper, turning her around to embrace her by her waist, so he could put his head on top of hers. Only then, he looked up and rolled his eyes towards their sibling. “I’ve missed you too, Kol... There. Satisficed?”_

_Kol seemed to consider it, his dark eyes twinkling with mischief. “No” he declared, smirking “I want my kiss”_

_Niklaus made a face. “Besides the obvious fact that my lips belong only to my lovely wife… I regret to inform you that you aren't attractive enough to even consider it, little brother.”_

_“Please, Nik. I’m the most handsome man in the world”_

_“Keep wishing that, brother” Rebekah chimed, smiling all too innocent “Maybe then our sister would take pity on you and transfigure your face so it won’t look so much like a troll"_

_Kol pouted while the rest of them laughed. “It’s good to see you as snarky as ever, little sister” greeted Nik, still smiling “And I hope these two hadn't given you too much trouble, Finn”_

_“I kept their shenanigans to the minimum” their oldest brother assured with a straight face, even if all the siblings could see the warmth and laughter in his eyes. “I've to say we're all very glad to have the two of you back home, brothers”_

_“It’s good to be home” Elijah promised walking towards the circle they’d formed and shared a genuine smile with the five of them. And it was truly good to be together once more, and the smiles in all their faces reflected that._

_However, the moment ended and reality came knocking when Elijah’s face smoothed into his polite and aloof mask as he turned towards the famous doppelgänger. “My dearest brothers and sisters, may I introduce you to Miss Katerina Petrova. She’s going to be staying with us for a season.”_

_It was, Ingrid mused, like staring into a moving painting of Tatia. Because, even if the dress and the hairstyle were different, there was no doubt this girl shared the same face as her ancestor, the one who had been drained of every single drop of blood by her aunt Esther in order to seal Nik’s werewolf side into the moonstone. And looking at how the girl smiled in awe as she was introduced to them, she couldn’t help but pity her. This young girl thought her prospects in life were going to increase thanks to her association to them – a very well-known noble and rich family – without knowing her death sentence had been signed the moment she’d met Niklaus and Elijah. It was unjust and dreadful that a girl so young like her – who had done no wrong besides sharing the same ill-fated blood and face that Tatia – had to be brutally sacrificed in a bloody ritual._

_But there wasn’t anything she could do to save her._

_The games of destiny had been played, Fate had already spoken and Death had marked a date for his meeting with Katerina Petrova. And therefore, in the next full moon, the girl would die. It was a pity and a tragedy, but none of them was going to move a single finger to change the girl’s fate, not when their family’s safety and happiness depended on it._

_Thus, she smiled as pleasantly as possible and welcomed the girl to their home. And, very soon, her siblings were following her example._

_After all, that was the vow they’d swore to each other centuries before. A vow to stick together as one, to stand beside each other, to fight for each other and do anything in the name of the bond the six of them shared._

_Family above all._

_Always and forever._

* * *

**& &&//02//&&&**

* * *

“Mistress needs to have proper rest” Kreacher fretted by her side, making her sigh.

“Two hours of sleep is enough for now” Aria assured, drinking her delicious hot chocolate as she opened another ancient book from her family collection, scanning it over and making sure she hadn’t made any mistakes with the complex set of runes she’d created overnight “Besides, this is nothing compared to other times. I’d slept less. A lot less.”

After Caroline had cried herself to exhaustion, Aria had given her a cup of blood before taking her nicest guest-room where, with a few simple twists of her wand – Merlin, she loved magic – she’d gotten rid of all the blood and changed Caroline’s clothes into comfy pajamas. And only after tucking Caroline inside the bed, she’d retreat to the library, determined to find everything she needed to know to protect and take care of her new protégé – And by Lord Death and Lady Magic, she needed to know if the new bond she’d towards Caroline actually meant that she was now the magical guardian of a baby vampire; how what’s that even possible? – which had taken her practically the whole night.

Luckily, she’d been able to sleep a couple of hours just as dawn broke down – she’d actually drooled a little over her books, bringing back fond memories from her school days – before she’d been jerked awake by one of her pesky dreams. And, for some very odd reason, she’d woken up with the strange urge to hunt down Elena and curse her; which had been motivation enough to not go back to sleep and keep working on her little gift for Caroline. Honestly, what reason would she have to curse a seventeen years old human girl?

But, of course, Kreacher wasn’t amused at all by her lack of sleep and was being a mother-hen about it. “Before, mistress has done it for good and important reasons. Protecting a nasty half-breed is not.”

Aria sighed, idly wondering how Kreacher would react to the fact that – maybe; probably; almost surely – at some point in between promising everything was going to be okay to the new vampire and taking her to the guest-room, her magic had identified herself as Caroline’s new magical guardian, something it’d only happen when she’d met Teddy for the first time. Maybe it would be best if she didn’t tell him just yet, she didn’t want to cause him a heart attack or something. Especially when it shouldn’t be possible in the first place and she hadn’t the first clue about how the bloody hell it’d happened. Damn her Potter Luck. “Caroline is my new friend, Kreacher. And you know I take my friends’ well-being very seriously”

It was Kreacher’s turn to sigh but, instead of keep arguing as she’d thought he would, he decided to completely change the direction of the conversation. She’d hoped it was a good sign. “Kreacher is a good elf to his Mistress so he is going to go finish cooking breakfast…. And if Mistress is so concerned about the filthy half-breed, Kreacher will take care of obtaining more disgusting muggle blood”

“Thank you, Kreacher” The elf nodded and then promptly popped out the room.

Alone once more, Aria finished verifying the runes and then, very carefully, started drawing them on Caroline’s new daylight bracelet. When the piece of jewelry glowed golden a minute later, Aria smiled, pleased with the knowledge that the magical protection was perfectly in place.

That done, she picked a rare and ancient book on magical bonds from the Peverell collection, determined to know if, at some point in the known history of the wizarding kind, somebody else had formed a bond of magical guardianship with a magical creature. Because, as far as she knew, it’d never happened.

The magical bond between a guardian and their ward was a safeguard created by Lady Magic herself, in an effort to protect young, naïve and inexperienced wizards and witches who, more often than not, were orphans. With it, Lady Magic tasked the guardian to take care, protect and guide their ward as they were introduced to the wizarding world. It was a bond that made the guardian and ward as good as family, at least in the eyes of Lady Magic and the magical community.

It was a bond she’d shared with her godfather.

She’d been too young to remember but Sirius had told her later that when he’d picked her from her crib on the night her parents had died, the magical bond of guardian and ward had settled between them, strengthening their magical bond as godfather and goddaughter. It was a bond so strong that had stood through everything; from Azkaban, Dumbledore’s machinations, their time apart and to their impossibility of living permanently together. And, in the end, the only thing that had been capable of break it had been her beloved godfather’s death. Feeling how the bond snapped inside her had been a very, very painful thing to experience, and her grief and all-consuming pain hadn’t helped. Honestly, with all things considered, it was no wonder why she’d tried to run after Sirius; not when it’d felt like everything good in her life – family, happiness, home, security – had been snatched away at the moment Sirius had felt through the veil. If it hadn’t been for the fact Remus had stopped her, restringing her mid-run, she would have gone after her godfather, consequences be damned.

The broken pieces of her bond with Sirius had stayed with her through the years, and it’d only been after she met Teddy that she’d started to heal. After all, in the eyes of Lady Magic and the wizarding world, her little wolf had been her godson and also her ward – her family – since the moment she’d held him for the first time. It was a magical tether, binding the two of them, and making the world a little brighter with the knowledge that, though not by blood, she was still connected to someone through the bond of family.

But none of that helped her to understand why Lady Magic would give her the magical guardianship of a seventeen years old girl. Up until ten hours ago, she hadn’t thought it was possible for that kind of bond to form with a magical creature, much less a vampire who wouldn’t be able to actively feel the bond. Why would a baby vampire even need a magical guardian? 

It was such a headache-inducing question that she was half-temped to mirror call her best friends and beg for help. But she was able to push through the temptation, her best friends would freak out in big proportions and insist on visiting her or something like, she knew it, and there was no need for that.

_Not yet._

“Good morning” chirped a familiar voice, making her jump and almost spill hot chocolate over an invaluable, ancient and very delicate book.

“Hey, Caroline” Aria greeted back, noticing how Caroline stood in the threshold of the library, still in pajamas, and looking almost shy “Did you sleep well?”

“Oh, yeah. Fantastic. Better than that even. Did your beds are magical as well? It felt like I was sleeping on a cloud. And waking up on such a pretty room – which is ginormous by the way – definitely helped to make me feel even better.”

Aria smiled, amused by the speed of the girl’s speech, knowing it was something inherently Caroline’s. “I’m glad you slept well. And no, the bed isn’t magical. It’s an interesting idea though” Seeing how the blonde attention had been completely captured by their surroundings, she couldn’t help but tease the blonde a little. “Oh. I see. Books are more interesting than me. It’s okay, I get it. Everyone has their preferences”

Caroline snorted, still staring in awe to the rows of books that extended to the infinite, beyond even a vampire's sight, as well as the crystallized dome that served as a ceiling. “This is amazing! The size of your library is un-be-lie-vable! It looks like you could fit the whole town inside here! How is this even possible?”

Aria shrugged. “Magic”

Caroline stared at her, unimpressed with the response. She stared back, raising an eyebrow.

“Seriously?!”

“Sure. It’s an undetectable extendable charm. Makes something as big as you want without changing the outside proportions” Smiling playfully, she added “It creates very interesting purses”

“I bet” Caroline grinned, sounding equal parts wistful and marveled “Your kind of magic is wonderful”

Aria beamed, preening a little. “Thanks… Now, sit down. I’ve something for you.” When the blonde was finally seated in front of her, she extended the charm bracelet with a flourish “Ta-da”

Caroline traced the different charms with a smile, her eyes alight with wonder. “It’s very pretty”

“Is not just pretty” Aria said immediately, too excited to be offended about how her incredible magical accomplishment had been reduced to a simple comment about its beauty. What she’d created was a masterpiece. And, honestly, Caroline was lucky she’d already created a very similar set of wards and enchantments for Teddy years before or, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to finish the bracelet in such a short period of time. “The blue heart charm is going to be your permanent reminder that you’ve got a good heart. And when you'll see it, you'll be seeing a big and bright heart just like yours. This charm is also the key of the ward that’s going to protect you from the sun” That’d been the hardest part of everything, making the sun-protection ward coexist in harmony with the rest of the wards and enchantments, but Caroline didn’t need to know that “The princess crown charm is there to be a reminder to always be true to yourself, no matter what everyone else in the world thinks. That’s why it’s enchanted to stop any direct physical attack you face, no matter how powerful the attack is. The only problem is that it can only be used once every eight hours or so. But, hopefully, it would give you the edge to run away, fight back or ask for help. If you don’t manage any of the former options then the next charm is the answer… The bluebird charm is the symbol of the joy, happiness, and freedom you should experience every day of your immortal life. So, if you ever find yourself in a life-threatening situation without no way out, touch it three times and think of me, and I promise I’ll come to you…” she assured, staring into Caroline’s wide blue eyes to try and convey how serious she was. To let her know she meant every word. “Finally, you have the book charm, because you should always remember that your mind, full of creativity and endless possibilities, is your best weapon. That’s why the charm holds a very powerful notice-me-not spell, which makes it impossible for others to notice you’re wearing the bracelet unless you tell them about it… Oh! I almost forgot! I also added some runes to make sure nobody but you are able to remove the bracelet once you put it on.”

Aria finished her explanation with a smile, still feeling very proud of the magical fit she’d accomplished. Ten years ago she would have needed Hermione or Bill’s help to create wards so complex in such a short time. And now, she’d managed to do it in a single night.

There was a beat of utter silence after she finished speaking and then, for the second time in less than ten hours, Aria was fiercely embraced by a blonde baby vampire. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you” Caroline chanted on her ear like a broken record, repeating herself over and over again with a hoarse voice filled with emotion.

Aria smiled softly, returning the hug. “I promised you I would make sure everything was going to be okay. I don’t break my promises.”

“Nobody has ever cared about me this much” Caroline confessed in a whisper, hiding her face in her shoulder.

Feeling how her heart contracted on her chest, Aria wondered if this was one of the reasons behind the magical bond the two of them now shared and then decided that it didn’t matter. Nobody deserved to feel like nobody in the world truly cared for you, she could attest to how utterly lonely that felt. “Well, you’ve me now and I’ll be here for as long as you want me to.”

Caroline nodded, releasing her and moving back to her seat, smiling almost bashfully as she wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her cute pajamas. “You know, it’s weird. If someone else would have made me that kind of promise, I wouldn’t believe them. But, for some reason, I can’t help but trust you.”

Uh, interesting. Maybe it was a little side-effect from the bond?

“I’m very trustworthy, I promise” she said instead of voicing her thought aloud, winking dramatically to the amused vampire. “Now, I think is time for breakfast. I’m dying for some of Kreacher’s special eggs. And you need to drink some blood”

Caroline made a face at her words, even if she got up and followed her out of the library. “I don’t like drinking blood. My stupid vampire face always appears and I can’t control it.”

She hummed, remembering all the tidbits of information she’d learned over the years, especially in the last months, about a vampire’s nature. “It’s your bloodlust. You don’t have control over it yet. Lucky for you, I can teach some tricks to get a hang at it.”

“Really?!” the blonde by her side asked, her eyes alight with hope and excitement.

“Sure. For what I know, controlling the bloodlust is very similar to refusing to submit under magical orders. And, if you know nothing else about me, know that I’ll never let anyone or anything take control over me in any way, if anything, I would probably lash out and do the exact opposite. I’m stubborn and vindictive that way”

By her expression, Caroline had a lot of questions about her statement. But they’d finally made it to the dining room, where Kreacher had already set everything on the table, and the baby vampire’s attention immediately zeroed on the big cup of blood waiting for her.

“Now, this will be your first lesson on control, you'll have to wait until after we finish eating our breakfast to drink even a sip of the cup of blood”

The blonde turned around, her eyes wide with incredulity. “Are you seriously expecting me to abstain?!”

“Very much so”

With an unhappy huff, Caroline took her seat on the table, being very careful to avoid looking into the cup’s direction.

“That’s not going to work” she pointed out, amused.

“I know” the vampire replied, sounding petulant “I can still smell it”

“And yet, you still haven’t drink it. Very impressive… Maybe I should make you abstain for another couple of hours after we finish eating our breakfast.”

The blonde’s response was a horrified squeak of protest that only made her laugh.

Aria still wasn’t sure how was possible to be the magical guardian of a baby vampire, had no idea how Teddy was going to react to all of this, had yet decided if she should tell to her best friends about this new development on her life – if she did, she would bet her entire fortune that Ron’s reaction was going to be downright hilarious – and had no idea what to do with the Salvatore brothers. But she was certain of one thing, she was going to help Caroline, teaching the ropes of control over her new nature and, bit by bit, she was going to introduce her to the wizarding world.

Lady Magic had chosen her to be Caroline’s guardian for a reason and Aria would make sure to do right by the blonde. 

Besides, if she was honest, so far it seemed that being the magical guardian of a baby vampire was going to end up being quite the experience.

* * *

**& &&//02//&&&**

* * *

“And Caroline said a witch helped her?” Stefan demanded, his eyes were wary and his entire posture was tense. 

Elena nodded, trying, and failing, to quell the ball of anxiety she’d felt since the night of the carnival when they’d arrived in the dark alley behind the school to find an unconscious Damon, lying next to the dead body of the cute carnival boy Bonnie had flirted early that day and no Caroline on sight.

It had been chaos from there.

Bonnie had immediately lashed out, her magic bursting free as she blamed Stefan and Damon for Caroline’s new status as a vampire. And when Elena had being forced to stop her from killing Damon, she’d lashed out against her too, claiming she didn’t want to be part of anything related to vampires – not caring about the fact that Elena was dating a vampire and that Caroline was now one too – and then, with one last enraged glare towards the Salvatore brothers, she’d left quickly, without any kind of goodbye. Since then, she’d refused to take every single one of Elena’s calls.

After her best friend had left them, Stefan, Damon, and Alaric had tried to track Caroline down but she hadn’t been in any of her usual spots and, due to the lack of trail of dead bodies, they hadn’t managed to find her anywhere, which it’d made everything even worse. Her friend had been turned by Katherine, probably to spite Elena or something, and, after killing some poor innocent guy, she’d left without saying anything, being off the radar for almost two days.

Elena had been feeling so anxious she’d barely slept lately. 

And now, not even half an hour before, just as she was finishing getting ready for her trip to Duke University in order to find more about Isobel’s research on werewolves, she’d receive a voicemail from Caroline. In it, the blonde had told her, in her usual perky and frivolous tone, that, although she wasn’t very pleased about being turned into a vampire, everything was alright because she’d met a wandering witch – whose name she’d failed to mention – who had been kind enough to help her, explain what happened to her and help her to get the hang of everything. Caroline had even told her something along the lines of _‘Don’t worry your pretty little brunette head, Elena. The witch I met helped me to get everything under control. So I’m not going to go on a killing spree or something like that. Oh! Please pass along the message to the Salvatore brothers, tell them I’ll be on my best behavior, so Damon can put away his creepy collection of stakes.’_

Naturally, the first thing Elena had done – after she’d called Stefan to ask him to come to her house – was worry about everything. It made no sense, why would some random witch help her friend? Who was this witch? To whom did she own her alliances? Was she an ally? Or a threat? Why was she in their town? There were so many questions that needed to be answered and Caroline had decided to be extra unhelpful and not pick any of her calls. 

“Are sure she’s not talking about Bonnie?”

Elena was shaking her head even before he finished his question. “No. Bonnie is too furious right now, she doesn’t want anything to do with me… or Caroline” she said, biting her lip in unhappiness. Her best friend was ignoring her because of her boyfriend's nature. Caroline could be putting all her trust into an unknown enemy. And none of them was willing to talk to her.

Probably sensing her growing distress, Stefan hugged her, cradling her head against his chest and gently stroking her hair. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. Bonnie is your best friend. She’s going to come around.”

She melted against him, feeling reassured by his presence and words. “You’re right.” Bonnie was going to calm down and everything was going to go back to normal between them, she just needed a little time. That’s all. “But what about Caroline? And this unknown witch? What if she’s working with Katherine?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.” He promised her “I’ll go to check on Caroline. She needs someone who can teach her how to control her bloodlust, someone who understands her…. And I’ll ask her about this new witch.”

“But….” He’d promised her to go with her to Duke and investigate more about Isobel’s research.

“I know, I know” he soothed, placing a kiss on her forehead. “But you’ll have to go with Damon and Alaric. As a newly turned, Caroline is going to be prone to lose control over her bloodlust and with her mother on the council, a mistake is not something she can afford to make. Someone needs to make sure nothing goes wrong and Damon would rather stake her than help her.” Stefan stared into her eyes, cupping her cheek “You understand, right?”

“Of course” she said immediately, even if she wasn’t pleased with the idea of going on a trip with Damon. She would endure it though if that’s what Stefan needed from her. “I love you”

Stefan smiled, that loving smile he reserved just for her, and bent down towards her. “I love you too”

And for those brief moments, as they passionately kissed inside the safety of her room, Elena felt calm for the first time since Katherine had come down barreling into her life, turning everything upside down.

* * *

**& &&//02//&&&**

* * *

“Hey, Caroline”

She’d been expecting it, so Caroline wasn’t surprised in the slightest to open the door of her house and see Stefan standing outside, looking determined, more brooding than usual and maybe even a little surprised by the fact that she was standing under the sun without burning.

Hiding her smugness at managing to catch him off guard under the perky and gullible blonde cheerleader mask she’d perfected by the age of fourteen, Caroline smiled with all the obliviousness she could muster. “Stefan! What are you doing here?”

Seeing the way he relaxed, Caroline mentally patted herself on the back.

Everyone had assumed since she’d been young that, just because she liked pink and girly stuff, Caroline was just another ditzy blonde. It hadn’t matter how high her marks were or how much work she put into all the extracurricular work she did, Caroline Forbes had been classified as a neurotic, control-freak, girly little girl; cute to look at, fun to fool around, but too much work for anything serious, never the one to be picked for anything remotely meaningful. And it’d hurt, more than anyone would have ever known. Because, despite her façade, Caroline cared a lot for others, maybe even a little too much. She cared for her mom, Bonnie, Matt, Elena, her dad, and, hell, even Tyler and Jeremy. She cared about their well-being, their happiness, and how they all seemed to only see the annoying girly little girl side of her and nothing more. So she’d hidden all her insecurities and deepest aspects of her personality behind a mask, letting the world see what everyone thought she already was.

There had been moments along the years, moments filled with hurt and so much pain, when the cracks on her mask had become too much and she’d let others see the most vulnerable and insecure side of her, usually Bonnie or Matt, but she’d made sure to always put her mask back together and pretend nothing had happened. To smile and be girly little Caroline once more. And, somehow, along the way, she’d lost herself on the mask she’d created and Caroline Forbes had become the shallow mask of the person she wanted to be, the person she knew deep down she could be if someone ever gave her the chance.

Nothing like forced vampirism and a wand-wielder British witch to tore down through her mask and turn around her perception of everything she thought certain about the world. 

Before everything had gone utterly-batshit-crazy and she’d been turned into a killing machine who thirsted for blood, Caroline had met Aria for the first time in a charity event during the summer and had hated her on sight. Okay. Hate was a strong word. Maybe just disliked her on sight. Very, very much so. It was just that… Aria had seemed so perfect. Beautiful, intelligent, compassioned, elegant and about every other little thing Caroline had always tried to be and had never managed to accomplish. And, even more so, she was respected by everyone who met her, no matter how old or young; even Caroline’s own mother and closest friends. But what cemented her strong dislike had been that, for all that she was nice and kind in appearances, Aria had always acted like she was detached from everyone, not seeming to really see them, like she wasn’t the same as them or something.

And Caroline had hated herself for being so jealous of someone who didn’t seem to care for anyone. 

Of course, now that she knew the truth, she could understand Aria’s detachment of the muggle world. And wasn’t that just even more unreal? There another world, a whole magical society, hidden in plain sight from everyone who didn’t have magic. A world where everything was possible and magical creatures like unicorns and dragons were real. It was like all her favorite girlish dreams had suddenly come true. And she would never tell Bonnie but wand-wielders were the most awesome kind of witches and wizards, no doubt about it.

The craziest thing about all of it wasn’t Caroline’s status new status as a magical creature as well – _She’d been changed into a magical creature!!!_ – but her quick and very, very strong attachment to Aria. As stated before, she hadn’t liked the green-eye British beauty at all, so her sudden trust and affection towards the girl didn’t make much sense in the eyes of a normal person. But she supposed that was a natural consequence after someone had saved your life, promised you to protect you, made you an awesomely beautiful protective bracelet, let you crash in their house for two days without complaints, taught you how to control your killer instincts, gave you good advice after you ugly cried and spilled all your insecurities, and treat you better than anyone else had done.

Basically, in two days, Caroline had come to care for Aria like she was the older sister she’d always wanted, the only difference was that Aria was a much more magically powerful and badass version of the idea she’d in mind when she was seven.

And because she cared so much for Aria, she was going to hide her identity from everyone. She didn’t want others to try and use her new friend – the way Damon had used her when she was human – and if that meant she’d to use her mask once more, it was alright. For years, she’d used her mask to hide her insecurities, she could do it for as long as it was needed to protect the one person who had accepted her, including her blood-sucking instincts and control-freakiness, without reservation.

In front of her, Stefan smiled. “Elena and I were worried about the voicemail you left her, so I came to check on you... It’s good to see you enjoying the sun.” He frowned, scanning her over “I don’t see your ring though”

Caroline laughed airily, ignoring the urge to cover her bracelet, knowing he wouldn’t notice it until she pointed it to him. “Please, Stefan. Rings are not the only kind of jewelry a girl like me can carry”

Stefan nodded after a moment, smiling slightly. “Of course…. Hey, I know this isn’t the best situation, Caroline, but everything is going to be okay. I can teach you how to control your bloodlust. What do you think if we go to the woods and I teach you how to hunt?”

Drink from poor little cute animals? No, thank you. “Yeah, of course” she agreed, her smile still glued to her face, walking outside her house and joining him on the sidewalk.

She didn’t mind keeping her façade but, seeing Stefan’s brooding face, she was sure it was going to be a long and tiring day.

Five hours, a bunch of repetitive questions, several arguments and a decreasing number of bunnies on their forest later, and Caroline had been proved absolutely right.

On Stefan’s defense, he wasn’t such a bad guy when he relaxed slightly and stopped brooding over the existence of the universe and whatever else he brooded on a normal basis. But he’d questioned her, exhaustively, about the identity of the mysterious witch who saved her – As if Caroline was going to tell him – and the repetitive questions were beginning to be tiresome.

No, she’d never seen the witch before that night.

No, she hadn’t mentioned Katherine – and here, Caroline had made sure to question Stefan thoroughly about the bitch who killed her.

No, she hadn’t asked for anything in return for her help.

No, she hadn’t said her name. It wasn’t important, anyway. They’ll never see her again. 

And if all the questions weren’t bad enough, drinking the blood of poor cute bunnies make her feel worse than a serial killer. Why was she doing this when Kreacher had stolen enough blood bags to fill three whole freezers? Oh, that’s right, because she was pretending that a random and totally unknown witch had taken pity on her, saved her and make her a daylight bracelet, before going on her merry way, far away from Mystic Falls.

“Are you listening to me, Caroline?” Stefan asked, his brooding face very much on.

She sighed, exasperated. “I am!” She was. Mostly. “It’s just… We’ve been at this all day, Stefan! I was hoping to go to Tyler’s party by the swimming hole and talk to Matt... He left me a message inviting me and saying he loves me, you know? And it was the first time he said it! But now is already dark and he probably has already fallen victim to the wicked charms of a bikini-clad scarlet woman!”

“Bikini-clad scarlet woman?” he repeated, lips twitching in amusement. “Really?”

“What?! I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of calling her a bitch. She doesn’t deserve that much of my attention.” she protested.

“Caroline, do you realize you’re talking about a purely hypothetical person, right?”

“That’s not the point, Stefan! What matters is that she could be trying to steal my boyfriend right now while you and I argued about her existence!”

He sighed, shaking his head a little. “Fine” he conceded, staring at her in a strange mix of fond amusement and exasperation “We can go to the swimming hole and look out for Matt. But if we see him acting like the good boyfriend we both know he is, then we’ll leave to hunt some more” 

“Of course” she accepted immediately, walking in the direction of the party “Though, I don’t know why I would need more vampire 101 classes, I’ve everything under control”

“Your restrain is impressive” Stefan admitted, smiling proudly in her direction as he walked by her side “Especially for someone as young as you”

“Thanks” Caroline smiled, preening at the compliment. She’d worked hard in the last two days, following every single one of Aria’s instructions – even the more crazy ones, like the one where she’d been forced to dodge the jets of blood Aria had thrown at her while Kreacher cackled in the background and turned her skin green every time she hesitated a moment too long in between running away or towards the blood – and the results had paid off, making her feel more in control of herself. But it was great to hear someone else - another vampire - recognizing her control over her bloodlust.

“It’s the truth” Stefan said, smiling back.

The quiet noises of the forest were interrupted by the loud ringtone of a cellphone, equivalent to the shrill of a hundred trumpets for her vampire hearing, and, therefore, making her jump in surprise.

“Sorry” he said, taking out his phone “I’ve to pick up this. It’s Elena”

“Sure. I’ll be here looking in another direction, pretending I’m not hearing every single word of your conversation”

Stefan’s smile at that moment was full of dry humor. “Thank you for the consideration”

True to her word, Caroline turned around and looked to the other direction, trying to distract herself from the conversation Stefan was having with Elena, which she could hear loud and clear. Even if their conversation wasn’t really that interesting, it was about how werewolves were real too – she knew that already – and that their bite was supposedly fatal for a vampire – oh, new information. She would ask Aria about it later – it was better than standing dumbly in the middle of the woods on a full moon night.

Her thoughts screeched to a halt as she checked that yes, she was in the middle of the woods on a full moon night while there was a werewolf on Mystic Falls.

And, like an echo to her increasing shrieks in her thoughts, her advanced hearing picked the growl of something that was running at a terrifying speed in their direction.

Her first instinct was to run. To get as far away from the threat as possible. But she couldn’t do that. Not when there was someone else with her, totally unaware of the risk they were in. “….Stefan” She said in a whisper, because she was smart enough to know to raise her voice was a sure way to attract very unwanted attention.

He turned around in confusion, his phone still raised to his ear, and she could only point towards her own ear, willing him to listen to what was out there. He frowned confused but, after a moment, his expression cleared with understanding which quickly morphed into fear. He cut the phone call without saying goodbye and, staring into her eyes, he said three words. “Run, Caroline. Run”

She didn’t need to be told twice. She bolted in the opposite direction of the growling, Stefan by her side, running as fast as her new abilities allowed her to, trying to put as much distance between them and their hunter as she could. But no matter how much she pushed herself, how fast she crossed through the woods, it already felt like she was fighting a losing battle as her senses picked how fast the werewolf was running. He was faster than her, she realized with growing dread. Much faster. Her panic only skyrocket as she heard how the werewolf gained speed on them and, soon enough, he was on their heels, his vicious growls and snarls terrifying her to her core. 

One second.

That was all it took.

She turned around for one second, just to make sure the werewolf was still at a safe distance and didn’t see the big branch on the ground in front of her until it was too late. She tripped, falling into the ground with a loud smack. She tried to get up and run, to get away, but that one second it was all it took.

The werewolf lunged at her, his mouth opened in a savage snarl...

“CAROLINE!”

…and impacted into a shining golden dome that appeared around her, bouncing him at least ten feet away from her. And, in front of her, the golden dome vanished almost as soon as it’d appeared.

_‘…it’s enchanted to stop any direct physical attack you face, no matter how powerful the attack is…’_

“What was that?” Stefan demanded, helping her to get up. “Caroline? How did you make that shield?”

‘… _it can only be used once every eight hours or so…. hopefully, it would give you the edge to run away…_ ’

“Run” Caroline said, watching how the gigantic wolf started to stand up. “Stefan, run!”

She took him by his right arm and forced him to run again, trying to get away from the terrifying creature running after them, all too aware of the fact the werewolf was already on their heels and would catch them very soon.

They weren’t going to make it.

Not without a miracle…

…or a magical intervention.

_‘…if you ever find yourself in a life-threating situation without no way out, touch it three time and think of me, and I promise I’ll come to you…’_

But Caroline didn’t want to do that. She wanted to protect Aria’s secret. She didn’t want to be a burden to someone who had been so good towards her.

 _‘…It’s going to be okay, I promise…_ ’

The werewolf finally caught up with them and growled as he jumped towards Stefan, who was running a few steps behind her. “Stefan! Look out!” Caroline didn’t stop to think, she threw herself to the werewolf, and the impact threw both of them far away from Stefan, into a small clearing in the middle of nowhere. 

_‘…you’ve me now and I’ll be here for as long as you want me to…’_

She cried out as she impacted with the ground, feeling how her leg twisted and broke, knowing her chances of running away were gone now. A couple of feet away from her, the werewolf got up slowly, like he knew the chase was over. He’d gotten her right where he wanted her. At his mercy. 

‘ _…I don’t break my promises…_ ’

The werewolf lunged and Caroline closed her eyes and, hating herself a little for being so weak, she touched the magical charm that Aria had made for her, thinking on the only person she trusted to save her life.

* * *

**& &&//02//&&&**

* * *

“At last! It’s ready!” Aria cried out happily, examining the glowing runes in the back of Teddy’s mirror with excitement.

After two days, her son’s mirror was finally completed.

The problem hadn’t been making the runic pentagram to connect her mirror with Teddy’s – not when she’d the first-hand experience of making communication mirrors as the co-creator of the set of mirrors that she and her best friends used to keep in constant contact – but, instead, it’d been creating the blood runic heptagram to make sure Teddy, and only Teddy, would be able to use the mirror. It was a matter of common sense really. She wasn’t about to send to Hogwarts – to Gryffindor's first-years dormitory – a magical object that anyone could pick up and use it to contact her – and see her forever young and seventeen face – without taking precautions. Big precautions. And this meant that, after Teddy sealed the blood runic heptagram with a couple of drops of his blood, nobody but him would be able to use the mirror. And, just to be safe, she’d added a set of runes that were going to make sure nobody but the person using the mirror, Teddy, would be able to see and hear the person on the mirror. So, if someone were to see her son talking to her in the mirror, it would look like he was talking to his reflection. It was perfect.

And that meant it was time to send it to her son.

“Kreacher, I’ve got a very important mission for you”

The elf straightened up, gazing at her with wide eyes. “Kreacher would be honored to serve his Mistress”

Aria smiled as she gently handed him the mirror. “I need you to give this to Teddy. Only Teddy… Tell him it needs a couple of drops of his blood to be activated.”

Kreacher accepted the mirror with careful hands, nodding with a very serious face. “Kreacher will not fail to his Mistress”

“I know you won’t” Aria reassured with utter confidence. With the corner of her eye, she saw the time and grimaced, remembering the five-hour difference between Virginia and Scotland. “And please tell my impatient son he’s only allowed to call me after completing his eight-hour mandatory sleep.”

“Kreacher will make sure the brat follows Mistress’s orders”

“Good” she smiled “Take care, Kreacher. Be sure to be back home safe.” She ordered, knowing that way the bond would sure he would come back safe to her. In the same way, decades before, Regulus’ order had saved his life in the cave filled with inferi.

The elf, whose eyes were shining, bowed deeply at her words and then disappeared with a pop.

Without much to do until Kreacher returned, Aria waved her wand and watched as the piles of books on the table started to float back to their respective places.

That was the moment her golden bracelet, the one nobody but she could see, started to burn. The bracelet was connected to five people, and it only burned when one of them was in desperate need of her help because of a life-threatening situation. And, at that moment, she knew the person most recently added was the one who needed it.

Aria closed her eyes, focusing her magic on Caroline, and apparated away.

She appeared in the middle of a clearing on the woods and had no time to do anything but raise her hand and conjure a shield as a werewolf lunged at her, his jaws opened on a feral snarl. Most wizards and witches were afraid of werewolves because, when transformed, they were very resistant to any form of magic. So she wasn’t surprised to see the werewolf snarling as he kept hitting her shield with his head, despite the pain it must be causing him the constant contact with her magic, trying to break through it to get them.

Behind her, Caroline whimpered.

“Are you okay?” Aria asked calmly. For most, creating a shield capable of hold up against the continued direct attack of a werewolf would be impossible. But she wasn’t the Master of Death for nothing. Her magic would hold, even if she wasn’t using her wand. 

“My leg is broken but I can feel how it’s starting to heal”

“Good, then this is what we’re going to…”

“Caroline! Are you okay?” Stefan yelled, running into the clearing by side that was unprotected by her shield.

She could perfectly see the moment the younger Salvatore understood what was happening, because his mouth opened on a silent ‘o’ as his eyes traveled from her to her shield, to Caroline sitting on the ground, and then back to her again. Sadly for him, she wasn’t the only one who noticed his distracted mind.

Above everything else, a werewolf was a hunter. And a hunter knew to attack when your prey is distracted on something else.

Stefan got no warning as the werewolf turned around and jumped at him. He fell backward on the ground as he tried to push him off him but a werewolf was strong, stronger than an average vampire when transformed, and a vegetarian vampire was not a match to him. The werewolf snarled, his big fangs in full display, as he prepared to go straight to Stefan’s neck. And Aria knew he wouldn’t be able to protect himself from his bite.

“Stefan!” Caroline cried out in horror from behind her.

With a sigh, Aria raised her hands and focused on the branches and rocks around the werewolf, transforming them into big unbreakable chains that wrapped themselves around the legs, body, and mouth of the werewolf, immobilizing him completely. Stefan, still under the werewolf, didn’t seem capable of doing anything but staring wide-eyed to the trapped werewolf. With another movement of her hand, the trapped creature of the night was floating in the air until he was deposited on the ground a couple of steps from her, growling and glaring at her with pure hate but unable to do anything else with his whole body trapped. 

“It’ll be better if you’re behind me as well, Stefan” Aria instructed, bending down to get closer to the wolf.

“What are you going to do with him?” he asked, speeding towards her side and carefully analyzing the werewolf.

Aria raised her eyebrow. “I think I made that obvious when I didn’t kill him directly. I’m going to set him free”

“Are you insane?! He’s going to kill us as soon as your chains are off him”

“No, he won't. I’ll make sure of it.”

“And how are you going to do that? Because…”

“Stefan” Caroline cut him, her voice firm “If Aria says she’ll make sure the werewolf doesn’t attack us anymore then that’s exactly what’s she’s going to do.”

“How are you so sure, Caroline? And please, spare me the lies, I already figured it out that Aria was the witch who helped you.”

Not wanting to hear the ongoing argument. She focused on her task as she put her hands on either side of the werewolf’s head, ignoring how he kept trying to snarl at her, and connected her eyes with him. Trying to use the confundus charm on a werewolf from afar and with a wand was a stupid idea. But doing it while she performed legimency on him and maintained direct contact with him, it might just work.

“Legilimens” she whispered, submerging herself in the chaotic mind of the wolf, noting how the human part of him was asleep while the wolf was in control, and quickly seizing control over all his thoughts. “Confundo”

She knew instantly that her spell had worked as the werewolf stopped growling and his eyes became glazed. Apparently, even Caroline and Stefan noticed that something had changed because they stopped arguing to stare the werewolf in surprise. With a wave of her hand, the chains fell away and the werewolf stood on his four legs once more but, instead of lunging at them, simply turned around and run in the opposite direction.

“What did you do?” Stefan asked, his eyes wide and incredulous.

Aria shrugged. “I confused him. Tonight, he won’t attack anyone else” She would have liked to have the ability to stop him from killing permanently but that was impossible. No spell would hold that much longer, not even the imperius curse, no with the natural ability of the werewolf to develop resistance to the magic that was cast on them.

“And what about tomorrow?!”

“Tomorrow?” She scoffed “Why do you care about tomorrow? By then, the full moon would have passed and the human mind would take control once more over the werewolf”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You don’t know?” she asked, incredulous “The werewolf curse is called a curse for a reason. On full moon nights, the human loses control over his body after the transformation takes effect. When transformed, the mind of the werewolf is very much like the one of a wolf, caring about most of the same basic instincts. The werewolf that attacked us did it because he saw us as prey to hunt, not because he’d a personal vendetta against us. He was following his nature and I won’t condemn someone to death for that.”

Stefan was gaping at her. “How did you know all that?”

“How don’t you know this already?” she asked in return “With how old are you, I thought you knew at least the basics”

How funny. Apparently, the Salvatore brothers' ignorance towards the existence of the wizarding world wasn’t the exception of the rule. The vampires didn’t seem to know much about anything. How had they managed to survive for so long?

“How do you know so much about me?” Stefan asked, looking wary all of sudden.

Aria snorted, amused. “Please, I knew about your brother and you within a week of you moving here. Not you nor your brother are careful when you’re feeding on your respectively chosen diet” she said, pointedly. Honestly, bunnies and deer don’t just drop dead, completely dried of all their blood and with teeth marks on them. It was so obvious that it was a wonder how nobody in town, especially those in the known about the vampire existence, didn’t put two and two together.

“Why didn’t say anything then?”

“Because I don’t care about you, your brother, your vampire problems or the people both of you have killed. Nor I cared for your human girlfriend and her witch friend.” she admitted with sincerity “As long as you keep your problems away from me, I don’t particularly care about what you do.”

“Then why did you save us tonight?” Stefan asked, frowning.

“Because of Caroline.” she admitted, pointing to the silent blonde, who was watching their ongoing discussion with attention. “She’s my friend and I came to her aid. That’s all.” Not wanting to keep answering his questions, she took a step back and gave him the same polite smile she’d used on him every time their paths had crossed in the past. “Now, If you excuse me. I want to take a long bath and relax in the comfort of my home.”

“Wait, Aria… Can I stay at your house again tonight?” Caroline asked looking a bit uncertain, like she was afraid she was going to say no or something crazy like that.

“Sure. I told you the doors of my home were always open for you” She said, smiling. “We can even do a movie night like yesterday”

Caroline’s eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly. “That would be great!”

With one last polite smile in Stefan's direction, she took Caroline’s hand and apparated them away, not even a little afraid about showing him that piece of her powers. With their non-existence knowledge of the magical world, Stefan and his brother would never figure it out on their own that she was a different kind of witch. The only way would be if she told them, or use her wand around them, and as she didn’t plan to do any of those things, everything was alright on that front for now.

* * *

**& &&//02//&&&**

* * *

“I’m going to kill her”

Stefan rolled his eyes, not surprised by his brother’s explosive reaction. In Damon’s world, with the unique exceptions of Stefan and Elena, the rest of the people could be classified as those he tentative considered friends – like Alaric – those he was forced to tolerate – like Bonnie and Caroline – those few he wanted them dead on sight for a specific reason – like Katherine – and then the rest of the world, which was considered as ample supply of disposable lovers and possible meals for the future. And, in light of the events of that night, Aria had just moved from ‘the rest of the world’ to ‘wanted dead’.

“You cannot”

“Please, little brother, have a little faith. I'll kill that double-faced bitch-witch”

“I meant it, Damon” Stefan insisted, exasperated “You won't be able to kill her. She’s too powerful for you. She's more powerful than Emily ever was! And she's aware of her power. You should have seen her tonight. She was in total control of the situation and every one of her moves was done with perfect calculation.”

“She let Mason go” Damon spat, furious “I fail to see why I shouldn’t kill the bitch-witch who let go the one thing that could kill us”

Stefan shook his head, irritated with his brother’s incapacity of seeing the big picture. “I already told you what she said about werewolves. Her reasons for not killing him are perfectly understandable.” When he saw his brother opening his mouth again, he cut him off, determinate to explain his idea before Damon could go and do something stupid. “You can’t try to kill her. That would be counterproductive. We need her on our side.”

Damon raised an eyebrow, mocking. “And, pray tell me, brother, why would we need her? We already have a witch on our side”

“Bonnie is still new and inexperienced to her powers. She can’t help us against Katherine. But Aria….” He left the phrase hanging, waiting for his brother to catch up.

And his brother was many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.

“…is powerful enough to kill our ex for us” Damon finished, looking delighted all of sudden.

“Not for us, with us” he corrected, rolling his eyes. He sincerely doubted Aria would agree to kill someone just because they told her it was safer for everyone that way. “I don’t want Aria fighting our battles, Damon. But with her help, we might be able to protect Elena from Katherine’s plans.”

He didn’t like to use the Elena-card with Damon, mostly because it was a permanent reminder that, once more, he and his brother were in love with the same girl. But, for once, he was willing to do it if that meant Elena would be safe from Katherine. Aria was a powerful and knowledgeable witch, who had managed to stay out of everyone’s radars, even Katherine’s. With her as an ally, Stefan had no doubt that they would be able to protect Elena from Katherine’s plans and threats.

And he needed his brother to see that.

Damon didn’t say anything for a while and then he smirked that devilish grin that promised trouble. “Well then, brother. Let’s go and charm a witch, you and I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think some of you got answers to your questions. Leave me your thoughts!


	4. Some truths need to be spoken aloud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Thanks for all your love! As a thank-you, I wrote the longest chapter yet. I hope you like it.   
> Ps. Stay safe! Stay positive! And don't lose hope!

#  **CHAPTER III**

**SOME TRUTHS NEED TO BE SPOKEN ALOUD**

**_Scotland, 1002 A.D._ **

_Ingrid found Kol in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by at least a couple of dozens of dead bodies._

_For the briefest of moments, she paused as she stared at the scene in front of her. Her usually mischievous and cheerful brother looked wild, terrifying, and even a tad deranged as he desperately drank from one of the lifeless bodies. With his blood-red eyes, the spider web of red on his face, his fangs firmly stuck inside the dead man’s neck and his victims’ blood staining his clothes with so much of it that it seemed like their original color was red, Kol looked like the monster the people of their village had accused him – and the rest of her family – to be. He looked like an angel of death and destruction, like a creature she should fear._

_But then the moment passed and she resumed her walk towards him._

_She knew she was supposed to be afraid. And, if she was being truly honest, she would have to admit that she’d been terrified at first._

_Nobody could fault her for that._

_After all, it was not every day you go to sleep, dream with Death, and then wake up weeks later, feeling how your whole body ached with tiredness, sleepiness and lethargy because your Aunt almost killed you when she channeled your magic to do an immortality spell on the rest of your family. She’d been dizzy and sluggish for the first days, going in and out of consciousness. But when she’d finally be able to get up and face the rest of the world, she’d found out that everything had changed. The world she knew was no more. And it’d taken her some time to realize one simple truth._

_It didn’t matter._

_It didn’t matter if the immortality spell had truly turned her family into the monsters everyone thought they were. It didn’t matter that they needed to drink blood and kill to survive. It didn’t matter that this new reality meant that time and age had stopped for them. And it didn’t matter because, at the heart of everything, they were still her family._

_She loved them, just like always._

_Kol was still Kol. And she could never fear – hate – him._

_It was that knowledge that made her ignore common sense – which told her it was a bad idea to tempt fate like that – and walk towards him, and then sat calmly by his side, pretending to not notice how hungrily Kol was drinking from his prey._

_After what it felt like an eternity, Kol dropped the body to the ground, wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve, and then turned to her._

_“Satisficed?”_

_“No” he admitted with a rough voice and twitching hands. “I keep drinking and drinking but I can’t seem to fill the emptiness inside of me.”_

_Ingrid’s heart bled out for him._

_His words brought back the memory of how shattered he’d looked the first time she’d seen him after he’d been turned, drenched in blood and crying alone in the middle of the woods; and how he’d clung to her, crying on her lap as he told her he was broken. ‘My magic is gone and I felt so empty… It’s like I’m broken, Ingrid… She broke me….’_

_She hadn’t known what to do then, how to respond, so she’d just hold him and let him cry, whispering prayers for his happiness to every deity she knew. And that day, as she rocked him back and forth like he was baby, she’d promised to herself to find a way to help him, one way or another._

_But she hadn’t got the chance to actually do it. Because before she could make a plan or try to come up with an idea, they’d been forced to run away from their village, their land, and the only life they’d ever known. And then they’d been forced to spent days, weeks, maybe even months, inside a ship towards the old world, hoping and praying to put as much distance between her Uncle – Mikael, he was just Mikael now – and them. Until, finally, they’d reached this new land, so far away from their home, and she’d known it was past time to fulfill her promise._

_With that in mind, she lifted both of her hands and offered them to him._

_Kol flinched away from her, looking horrified. “I could never drink from you, Ingrid.” And she knew he was being serious because he was using her name._

_Despite the gravity of the situation, she couldn’t help but smile a little. His words were an echo of how Niklaus and the rest of her siblings had reacted when she’d offered herself as their next meal after they’d drunk from the rest of the crew and there had been no land on sight for days. In response, they’d told her, in no uncertain terms, that they would first throw themselves to the sea before drinking from her and risk her life. It’d made her loved them even more, to know they were willing to put her life and safety first, even before the very thing that they now craved more than anything else._

_“I wasn’t offering this time, I swear. I just want you to take my hands.”_

_Kol frowned a little, clearly confused, but he obediently came near her and took her hands on his, trusting her implicitly. Ingrid smiled at him, grateful for his faith, then she closed her eyes and focused on her magic, putting every bit of her energy and will to make this work._

_She needed this to work. For him. Her brother, best friend and confident._

_The thing was that, out of everyone, she was probably the only one who understood how much magic meant to Kol._

_Ingrid had been raised alongside her Uncle’s children since she’d been a baby, and she and the rest of the Mikaelson siblings had grown to be a rather close-knit group, even among people who shared blood. They’d grow up – playing, laughing, crying, arguing – together, had kept each other’s secrets, had defended each other against anyone who wasn’t family and had loved each other unconditionally for as long as all of them could remember. So every single one of them had a special and sacred place on her heart._

_But her bond with Kol was different._

_Ingrid and Kol had been born on the same day, in the same month of the same year. And Finn had told her more than once that they’d been in perfect harmony with each other since day one. According to him, they both had cried every time someone had tried to take one of them away, had laughed when the other had done so and had been seemingly capable of understanding each other needs in a way nobody else could. And maybe that closeness would have eventually disappeared as they grew up. But, instead, their bond had been strengthened when they discovered their shared love for magic._

_There were no words to describe how marvelous it was to have magic, to experience that rush of power every time you cast a spell, to be amazed by the knowledge that you could control something so incredible and be humbled by the wonders you could create with it. There were no words to describe magic. But Ingrid and Kol, both prodigies of magic in their own right, have loved it with an intensity that was impossible explain and that nobody but the two of them had really understood. So it’d been inevitable that they’d became each other confident and best friend as they grew up, exploring magic and daring each other to go beyond the limits that most people had._

_Now here they, so many years later in a strange land, and one of them had lost forever his access to magic – which was the anathema to everything they’d known and loved their whole lives – while the other, who still had her magic, was incapable of fixing the problem – which was a very cruel twist of fate; and considering everything they’d gone through, that was saying something._

_But even if she couldn’t give him back his magic, she could share with him the feeling of it, even if it was for a very little while. After all, everyone had always said her magic was different, as it seemed to be alive inside of her, allowing her to do things beyond imagination. ‘A gift’ Ayana had said once. And she was going to use that to her full advantage._

_So she focused on the core of magic inside of her and willed her magic to go to her brother, to allow him to feel that wonderful rush of power and energy that she felt every time she did magic. And it was exhausting, to command her magic in that way, but she knew it was working because Kol was laughing in wonder and his hands were shaking as they squeeze hers almost to the point of pain. And for his happiness, she ignored her sudden tiredness and gave him more of her magic. She gave and gave, only focusing on her magic and Kol, until she was forced to stop because she felt like she was about to pass out._

_It took her a moment to open her eyes – to shake away the dizziness and the growing headache – but, when she finally did, she was met with the wonderful view of Kol’s blinding smile._

_It was a sight that had been sorely missed in recent weeks._

_“Thank you, sister” he choked, hugging her tightly to his chest “Thank you so much”_

_“Do you still feel empty?” she asked, hugging him back._

_Kol threw back his head and laughed aloud, and even if his eyes were teary and misty, this was the happiest she’d seen him since he’d been turned. “No. I almost feel like I’m me again.”_

_“Good” she smiled, pleased with how happy he looked, and then she let herself fall backward to the ground, too tired to waste energy in trying to stay upright. After a moment, Kol lay down by her side and both of them looked up to the clear sky, ignoring the dozens of bloodied and lifeless bodies surrounding them._

_“So… Now that my mind is clearer, I feel is my brotherly duty to pry on your love life”_

_Ingrid refrained from grimacing, knowing perfectly well what he was talking about. “Everything is fine, brother. There’s nothing to pry.”_

_“Please, sister. Remember that I was the one taught you how to lie. I know all your tells.” Kol said, smirking in her direction._

_“Fine” she sighed, giving up “What do you want to know?”_

_“What’s wrong between you and Nik?” He demanded immediately “The two of you have spent weeks trying and failing to act like you aren’t moping, mooning over the other when you think nobody is looking. And I don’t understand why… I thought everything was perfect between you two?”_

_This time, she did grimace. “It has been that obvious?”_

_“Yes.” Kol said with vehemence “I could tell you were moping and I was in a blood-induce-daze. It’s pathetic, sister. So I’m demanding an explanation.”_

_Her heart started beating faster, knowing she was going to voice aloud the fear that had been plaguing her for some time. “I don’t know what went wrong… Everything was alright and then we left the village and he started to become distant… And now I fear… I fear that he doesn’t love me anymore”_

_She’d expected a lot of responses from Kol. From reassurances that her fears were ridiculous to promises of bodily harm. But she could have never expected for him to throw back his head and cackle, his booming laugh echoing through the clearing and making even the birds fly away._

_“What’s so funny?”_

_Probably sensing how much his reaction had hurt her, her brother was quick to sober up, sending a soft smile in her direction. “Oh, sister dearest. I never thought I would say this to you – because you’re normally the level-head one – but you’re been stupid… Niklaus loves you. Everything can see that”_

_“But…”_

_“Look” Kol cut her off, suddenly very serious “I think I’ve got an idea about what’s going on with Nik… But you might not want to hear it.”_

_Ingrid frowned, indignant. “Of course I want to hear it. I deserve the truth!”_

_“Very well” Kol nodded “Then I’m going to ask you something. What do you plan to do now?”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“Well, we’d put an ocean between Mikael and us, and yet, that’s not going to be enough. Besides having the same new abilities that we have, Father is a skilled hunter and warrior. He won’t give up until we lay dead at his feet. And that means we need to keep running without looking back… We’re probably going to end up running for however long we live… But that doesn’t have to apply to you.”_

_“Of course it applies to me! What are you----?”_

_“Think about it, Ingrid. You weren’t turned into a monster like us. You’re still a perfectly normal human girl.”_

_She shook her head. “Aunt Esther said I’m linked to all of you. She said the spell stopped my aging progress.”_

_“Maybe” Kol conceded, his jaw clenching at the mention of his mother “But you’re still human. A witch. You can settle down in some village, marry some human boy, and have the large batch of children you always dreamed of. You could be happy… Far away from us, you will be free.”_

_“Do you really expect me to abandon you?” she asked in a whisper, stunned._

_Her brother shrugged. “I was a little too preoccupied trying to drown myself in blood to think about anything else… but I hear Finn and Elijah talking about it. They don’t think is fair to drag you with us. To risk your life like that, especially because you’re still vulnerable to mortal weapons. They want you safe. And if that means you’ve to be far away from us, they think that’s a fair price to pay.”_

_“Do all of you---?”_

_“Bekah hasn’t said anything yet… and I’m too selfish to even contemplate the idea of letting my favorite sibling go but… I’m pretty sure the kind of love you and Nik share is all about sacrifice and selflessness. So I think he’s trying to give you space to figure out your options.”_

_“But I don’t want to live my life without Niklaus. Without any of you.” She confessed. The idea of leaving the love of her life and her sibling behind had never even crossed her mind. It was absurd. Without her family by her side, she could never be truly happy. “Why didn’t he say anything to me?”_

_“That’s a good question, sister… What’s your answer to that, Nik?”_

_For a second, she frowned in confusion, thinking Kol had somehow confused their names. But then she saw how her brother sat up, turning his head in the direction of the other side of the clearing and her mouth dropped open when she caught sight of Niklaus, coming out of the threes with careful and slow steps._

_“How---?”_

_“Oh. This another consequence of mother’s spell. Now we can’t even have a nice and private conversation in the middle of the woods without everyone else listening in… I bet you couldn’t resist coming here as soon as we started talking about you, right Nik?”_

_“Kol…” Niklaus said, his eyes flashing red in a silent warning._

_“Fine. Fine.” He said, getting up and then helping her to get up “I know when I’m not wanted. I’ll leave you to your conversation” Kol walked away from her until he was in front of Nik and then he warned him in a whisper too low for her to hear. “Remember what I told you when we were human, Niklaus. If you make her unhappy, I’ll make you pay. And with our new abilities, I can promise you that my punishment is going to be bloody and very, very painful.”_

_Nik nodded, once, receiving a nod in return from Kol before he disappeared from the clearing in a flash, leaving the two of them alone for the first time in what it seemed like an eternity._

_“Is it true what Kol said?” Ingrid demanded, breaking the silence “Have you really been acting so distant lately because you wanted me to leave you behind?”_

_His face contorted in pain. “I could never want to be apart from you, Ingrid… but I love you too much to ask you to stay. Not when I don’t have anything to offer you besides a life forever in the run.”_

_“Did you ever stopped to think that maybe I didn’t care about that?” She ignored the dead bodies and walked right in front of him, staring into his eyes to let him know how furious she was. “That maybe I just wanted to spend my life by your side?”_

_“And what life would that be?” he demanded in return “I have nothing to offer to you, Ingrid. I can’t give you children or a home or a place to belong.”_

_“That’s not true! As long as we’re together, I’ll always have a place to belong” she claimed, putting her hand above his still-beating heart. “You’re my home, Niklaus… I don’t care if we can’t have children, nor I care if we spent the rest of our lives running from Mikael… As long as I’m with you, I’ll be the happiest woman in the world.”_

_He choked back a sob, his blue-green eyes glistening with barely suppressed tears. “I love you more than words can express, Ingrid.”_

_“That’s good” she said, fervently, standing on her tiptoes to touch his forehead with hers “Because my love for you goes beyond comprehension, Niklaus.”_

_His answering smile was breathtaking, his whole face lighting up as he stared at her in amazement, he gazed at her like she was a distant dream that had suddenly become very real. But when he opened his mouth again, he said the last thing she’d been expecting. “Marry me”_

_“A moment ago you were listing all the reasons why I should leave you” she reminded him, torn between amusement and delight. “How did you went from that to a marriage proposal?”_

_“I’ve wanted to make you my wife for a very, very long time, Ingrid. And I thought that I’d lost my chance after everything that happened but… If you’re sure about your feelings for me…. If you really think you could be happy by my side…. I want you to be my wife for the rest of eternity.”_

_“Yes... Yes! Yes! Of course I’ll marry you!” She laughed, throwing her arms around his neck to hug him. His delighted laughter echoing hers as he twirled her around the clearing, making her dizzy with happiness._

* * *

**& &&//03//&&&**

* * *

“So, when do I get to meet my new baby sister?”

“Caroline is seventeen. If someone’s the baby it would be you, little wolf” Aria said, amused and maybe a little bit relieved. Because as far as reactions went – and nobody had ever written a manual on how to tell your son you sort of adopted into the family a baby vampire, so she was kind of going blind in this – this was probably the best she could have hoped for. But then, catching on what exactly he said, she promptly added “And I think you’re jumping ahead with the sister claim.”

“Please, mum” Teddy said, rolling his eyes “You’re Caroline’s magical guardian. That makes her your ward. Your family. Therefore, my family. So, she’s my new baby sister.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“And I don’t get any said on this?”

“No”

Aria lifted an eyebrow, unimpressed with his explanation.

Teddy stared back through the mirror, equally unimpressed with her lack of support for his idea.

At almost twelve, with bright turquoise hair, her emerald green eyes, and a combination of her father’s and Remus’ features, Teddy didn’t resemble at all to any of his Black ancestors. And yet, even without knowing them, he’d mastered the Black defiant smirk like a champ. That smirk had been used by generations of Blacks to tell others that they were before someone with little respect for social rules, someone who was going to fight, again and again, until they got their way. Looking at him was seeing an echo of her father, godfather, Remus, and Tonks all rolled up together in the best possible way, but with a unique flair that made him one hundredth percent Teddy, her beloved son. 

“You know it’s not polite to claim someone is your family without asking them first, right? Please tell me I didn’t fail to teach you at least that much.”

“Of course I know that, mum. But I don’t see what the big deal is. You tell her the truth and we get an official new member of our family. Easy-peasy.” Teddy said, with all the impatience of the youth. “C’mon… The sooner you tell her, the sooner I can properly introduce myself to her.”

“Oh, yeah? What would you said to her?”

“Something along the lines of ‘Hi, I’m Teddy Potter-Black, your new brilliant older brother.’ And then I would ask her what the coolest thing about being a vampire is.”

She snorted. “Do I really have to keep reminding you that she’s older than you?”

“No, because it’s not true. She was older when she was human but she’s a baby vampire now. And I’m an eleven years old wizard. That means I’m older than her and, ergo, her new older brother.” He claimed, utterly certain.

“Interesting reasoning” Aria scoffed, more amused than anything else. After a moment, she sobered up and carefully analyzed Teddy’s expression for any sign of deception. “Are you really okay with this? I don’t want you to feel excluded or uncomfortable or anything.”

“I promise I’m fine.” Teddy smiled, soft. “I swear I’m not pretending. I’m truly excited about this… I mean, I got a sister! And she’s a vampire!! It’s super-hyper-extra brilliant, mum!”

Aria smiled at him, entirely too fond. “Because the important thing is that she’s a vampire”

“Obviously”

“Good to know where your priorities lay, little wolf.”

“Hey! That’s the way you raised me! Don’t you dare to put the blame on me, mum.”

She snorted, rolling her eyes. “Cheeky little wolf”

“I’m marauder descendant. I’m always an up-to-no-good little wolf” he corrected her, smiling too innocently.

She suppressed a smile, choosing to nod as a way to concede her defeat. “Touché”

“So… Did this mean I get to spent Easter holidays with you?” he asked, hopefully “You know, to properly meet my new baby vampire sister.”

Aria considered his request, not surprised in the least by it. No when Teddy had made his feelings on the matter perfectly, abundantly, and repeatedly clear. And, if she was honest, she was tempted to say yes and be done with it. After all, she’d missed him just as much as he’d missed her, she didn’t want him to be unhappy on his holidays, and Easter would truly be a perfect opportunity for Teddy to meet Caroline and spent some time with her before summer vacation. Sadly, she was bound by her duty as his parent to think about the big picture of his lasting happiness. 

“Let’s make a deal, little wolf” Aria proposed “You can spend your Easter holidays here if you try to be more open with your classmates… you’ve to let yourself have some new friends.”

“Mum!” Teddy protested immediately, outraged “I told you how all of them are a bunch of sheep who don’t care about anything but the fact I’m the son of the Girl-Who-Conquered! You can’t seriously expect me to be friends with them!”

“Yes, I know what you said. But you see, little wolf, what I keep hearing is how all of them are like that. And I can’t help but wonder if you’re not putting everyone on the same box without actually getting to know them.”

Teddy pouted, and even if he didn’t reply anything, he lifted his chin in a familiar stubborn gesture.

“I’m not asking you to go shaking the hands of every student in Hogwarts, little wolf. I’m asking you to give them a chance to prove to you that not everyone is the same… It’s not easy to talk to someone who is famous without looking like you’re another fan. But sometimes the people that stay away, the ones who prefer to stay silent and observe the world around them… sometimes they’re capable of seeing you for who you are. Trust me on that.”

She thought of Blaise, a Slytherin student who had never interacted with her before her fourth year, and yet he'd taken his time to seek her out after Cedric's death, so he could sit by her side and tell her that he believed on her. She thought of him and the rest of the Slytherin students who had joined the DA, trusting her to teach them how to fight and defend themselves despite the fact that Aria hadn't given them a passing glance before that. She thought of the forty-one members of the DA, a perfect mix of every single house of Hogwarts, and how honored she’d felt when she'd realize the deep of their trust and faith in her. And she thought on how – not counting two notable Ravenclaw exceptions – every single one of the DA members had stood by her side on the Final Battle of Hogwarts, ready to fight and die by her side.

Teddy must had seen some of that on her face because some of his defiant stubbornness disappeared from his face. “I just have to give them a chance?”

“Just a chance. That’s all I’m asking”

“Fine” He caved with an unhappy sigh. After a moment, unexpectedly, his green eyes started to shine with mischief “But you’re the one who is going to tell grandma that I’m not going with her.”

Only the years of experience under her belt as a parent prevented her from showing her dismay, as she knew better than let him known he’d got her. Instead, she grinned at him. “Of course, little wolf. As long as you keep your part of the deal, I’ll tell your – very scary and easy to rile up – Black grandmother about the change of plans”

Teddy grinned back. “It’ a deal then.”

* * *

**& &&//03//&&&**

* * *

“I’m so sorry” Caroline said, dropping on her seat on the table.

Judging by the way Aria almost dropped her tea over the strange piece of old parchment she’d been writing on – and seriously, did witches and wizards still used parchment?! – Caroline suspected she should have announced her presence before speaking. Or maybe nor used her vampire speed to enter the dining room. Well, too late to correct any of that now.

The emerald-green witch lifted her gaze and blinked in her direction, clearly confused. “Uh? I think I’m a little bit lost here. Why are you apologizing for, Caroline?”

“Yesterday. For the werewolf and Stefan and… I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I got myself into trouble and you were forced to use your magic to save me” Caroline said in a rush, trying to express everything she’d wanted to say since the night before.

She’d wanted to apologize as soon as they’d appeared inside Aria’s house, but then Kreacher had popped in saying something about a brat and a mirror – which didn’t make more sense in the light of the day – and Aria had brightened like she was hearing the best news of her week, immediately following the elf to god-knows-where, cheerfully telling Caroline to make herself at home on the entertainment room. And by the time she’d bounce back, full of happy smiles and excitement, Caroline had already lost all her courage, opting to enjoy their movie night instead of saying something that could possibly ruin it.

But it was morning now, a bright new day with birds chirping on the trees and endless possibilities to explore; Caroline refused to chicken out now. 

From her seat, Aria frowned at her, tipping her head to the side as she stared at her with all too knowing eyes. “Caroline, I’m not mad with you for that… If I didn’t want to protect you, I wouldn’t have given you the bracelet in the first place”

“I know that” Because she really did. “But I got into trouble the same day you gave it to me and now Stefan knows about your magic, which means Damon and Elena probably know by now too, and I just… I just feel guilty for not being able to keep your magic a secret.”

“While I appreciate the sentiment, there’s not much you could have done, Caroline. Fighting off against a werewolf on a full moon is something even centuries-old vampires on a blood diet have a problem with. Calling me was the right choice.” Aria assured her, her expression open and free of any kind of deception or annoyance. “And just you know, I knew as soon as I saved your life that my magic wouldn’t stay a secret for much longer”

“What? Why?”

“Because I have a saving-people-thing” Aria shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, even if there was clearly a story behind that title. “And I could never turn my back on you after I saved your life, not without a very good reason at least”

It was the way Aria said the words, freely and unfiltered - like there was no other option besides saving her life – what truly touched Caroline and silenced the voices in the back of her head which were whispering she was nothing but a burden to her new friend. And it was nice, this small reaffirmation that Aria cared for her just because she was Caroline, without any kind of strings attached. “That doesn’t explain why you thought your magic wasn’t going to stay a secret.”

“Have you pay attention to all the craziness in this town? It’s like every day a new dramatic problem pops out or something” Aria said, smiling in amusement “The only thing I was worried about was using my wand and exposing the wizarding world to them, but as long as everyone thinks I’m just another wiccan witch, everything will be fine.”

“Why?” Caroline asked, perplexed “Are you not worried that they are going to try and use you for your magical powers?”

At her question, her friend’s smile turned sharp and vicious. “Oh, I would love to see them try.”

The way she said those words made her almost pity Stefan and Damon. Almost. But her emotions and self-confidence were still trying to find solid ground after remembering all the awful things Damon had done and said to her. And she wasn’t feeling particularly merciful towards him. Stefan, on the other hand, was a lot more complicated, as Caroline could sort-of understand Stefan’s position, what with Damon being, unfortunately, his brother and everything.

“So as long as they don’t figure it out you’re a different kind of witch everything is fine?”

“Exactly”

She thought it over. “Do you have some kind of spell or something to make them forget? You know, in the hypothetical case that someone else besides me figures out that you’re a wand-wielder witch”

Aria made a face. “It’s complicated. In theory, there’s a spell that can wipe out memories from a person’s mind and it will work just fine on your friends Elena and Bonnie but… the Salvatore brothers are trickier”

“Because they’re vampires?”

“Yeah... The thing about vampires is that the magic inside of them acts as a regenerator of sorts, regenerating every cell of their body every second of every day of their life. In practical terms that means the aging process stops and all the wounds they get – except those that instantly kill them – are healed… And that kind of magic clashes with the memory charm, constantly fighting one another and creating the very strong possibility that, eventually, the vampire’s regeneration power will kick in and make them remember”

Ugh, she could see how that could be a problem. “So, the solution is just avoiding the use of your wand?”

“Hmm-mmm” Aria nodded “It might not be full-proof but it’ll work. Nobody besides you knows about the magical world and I can do magic without my wand just fine. So there’s no reason to worry.”

Maybe. But it still felt kind of shitty that Aria was dealing with all those problems for her, especially because it seemed like Caroline was incapable of defending herself against anyone. She couldn’t protect herself against Damon as a human. And now, even as a vampire, she was equally incapable of protecting herself.

“I can hear you thinking from here, Caroline. What else is bothering you?”

She contemplated avoiding the question altogether, knowing her friend wouldn’t press for more if she did it, because what had happened with Damon was one of few things she hadn’t told Aria and speaking about it made her feel itchy and uncomfortable, and ashamed. But the open expression on Aria’s face reminded her that her new magical friend had never judged her. Not once. If anything, she’d always seemed to know what to say, giving advice and reassurances that didn’t feel empty, and making her feel safe afterward. And, really, if there was one person on the planet who she trusted to the point on giving her the full honesty, that was Aria.

“I just… I thought becoming a vampire would mean I would get strong enough to defend myself, you know? But last night I was at someone else’s mercy again, in the same way that when Damon used me as his plaything and I just… I just don’t want to be girly little Caroline anymore. I want to be strong… Strong enough to protect myself.”

Aria stared at her, her mouth open and her eyes shining with too many emotions for her to understand. “…what do you mean, Caroline? About being Damon’s plaything?”

Her mouth was dry and her hands were shaking but she could do this. She could be honest with Aria. It would be like ripping off the Band-Aid. So she fixed her gaze on the big French windows – because there was no way she would be able to tell that story while looking at Aria – and started talking, telling her about her first meeting with Damon and how a hook-up had turned into weeks, months, of being a compelled human blood-bag, only used for food, sex and a convenient pawn on Damon’s games, with no regard whatsoever for her feelings on the matter. And how, only after being turned into a vampire, the memories had slowly came back, putting back together a horrible picture she wished she didn’t remember.

When she finally stopped talking and came back from her memories, she realized with a jolt that the table was shaking and everything on it – from the plates filled with food to the silverware – was floating in the air. Stunned, she turned towards Aria and her mouth fell open at the expression on her face.

Caroline had seen a lot of sides of the British girl since they’d properly met the night of the carnival – from composed to playful to fierce – but this was the first time she saw her looking all sort of heartbroken. Her emerald green-eyes were glistening with unshed tears and her lips were firmly pressed together, like she was forcing herself to not cry. Aria was sad, she realized with some surprise, sad for her. For what happened to her.

“It’s okay” she promised, not wanting to see that expression on her friend’s face.

Aria choked back a sob, shaking her head with disbelief. “No, it’s not. But I appreciate your attempt to make me feel better” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, and Caroline watched astounded how everything on the table went back to normal as if nothing had happened. When Aria opened her eyes again, her eyes were clear and her expression was resolute. “What do you want me to do with Damon?”

“What?”

“I can kill him if you want. If that would make you feel better.”

Caroline’s breath hitched, considering the possibility. It sounded so tempting. Just letting Aria get rid of Damon and she would never have to face him again. Just a word to her friend and the walking reminder of what happened would be gone forever. It would be so easy to say yes… But she would be using her dear friend as a murder weapon and Damon’s blood, no matter how indirectly, would be on her hands too. And that wasn’t the kind of person she wanted to be. She never wanted Aria to feel used by her, or anyone really, and she didn’t want to be responsible for someone else’s death. She knew how awful it felt to have someone else’s blood on your hands and she didn’t want to feel that again.

What she really wanted was to be strong enough to carry on with her life despite everything that happened.

“I don’t want you to kill him” she said, firm and resolute “I don’t want anyone to die. Not even Damon.”

Aria stared at her for a long moment, considering her with pursed lips and hardened eyes, until, finally, she nodded. “If that’s what you want” Carefully, she put a hand over Caroline’s “It’s not your fault, you know… You were an innocent human girl with no prior knowledge of vampires, there was nothing you could have done to defend yourself… Nothing that happened was your fault.”

“I invited him into my home… that first night I…”

“You invited someone who you thought was a hot human boy for a hook-up. You never asked for any of the rest.” When Caroline didn’t say anything, Aria squeezed her hand “I’m serious, Caroline. You’ve nothing to be ashamed of. You did nothing wrong… And I want you to know that you are strong. Stronger than you realize. Because it takes a very special kind of courage to not take revenge on someone who has wronged you and instead choose to move on.”

Caroline felt how her lips trembled and her eyes started to moisten but she refused to let any tear fall. She was done crying. She was strong. She would not cry. Not over this.

“I’ll teach you”

Her surprised gazed snapped back to Aria, who was looking back at her with a determined and fierce expression on her face. “I’ll teach you how to protect yourself so you would never be in that kind of position ever again.”

There were a lot of things she wanted to say at that moment. Most of them some sort of thank you. Because Aria had done more for her than anyone else she knew and she was still here trying to make her feel safe and secure, willing to teach her whatever Caroline needed in order to feel strong enough to stand on her own two feet. But a thank-you wouldn’t be enough. Not for this. Instead, Caroline decided to put her one-hundredth percent and then some more into learning whatever Aria taught her, so she could know how much she appreciated it. And maybe, someday, Caroline would find a way to tell Aria how grateful and humbled she felt by everything the other girl had done for her. 

“When do we start?” she asked instantly, beaming with excitement. 

Slowly, a small smile grew on Aria’s face, softening the fierceness from before. “As soon as you finish your breakfast, I guess”

“Awesome!”

* * *

**& &&//03//&&&**

* * *

Aria knew as soon as they approached the perimeter’s wards of her land that two vampires – or, more specifically, the Salvatore brothers – were making their way towards her house.

All her years as Voldemort’s main target, her long year on the run, and then her need to move from one place to another had made her very, very appreciative of Mad-Eye’s Constance Vigilance Policy. Which, of course, meant that every single one of her residences on the muggle world – all of which were acquired through the goblins and put under the name of the Marauders’ Foundation in an effort to not leave behind a paper trail that could be connected to her – were heavily warded, for precaution, and then some more, to pulverize her enemies if the need for defense ever arose.

Her Mystic Falls’ house was no exception.

Even before she knew the idyllic town wasn’t what appeared at first impression, she’d set a very impressive and impenetrable – if she said so herself – collection of wards around the house and the three hectares of land attached to it. And, well, after she’d found out about all the batshit crazy supernatural problems this town attracted, she’d made sure to reinforce the initial wards – adding some special protections especially designed for vampires – and upgrade the defense mechanisms to the point that she could set instantly on fire anyone who dared to set foot inside her property without her said so.

So, of course, she knew about the two vampires walking towards the perimeter of her land – and that none of them was Caroline, as she had been keyed into the wards the same night Aria had saved her life – but she’d let them get inside her property and made their way towards her front door.

Considering the fact that Stefan had learned about her magic a couple of nights before, the vampires on her front yard could only be the Salvatore brothers and she was very eager to have a proper confrontation with them, especially the older one, Damon.

She could accept – and, grudgingly, understand – Caroline’s desire to no seek revenge. But Damon Salvatore had hurt someone Aria cared about. Her magical ward. Her family. And she could never forgive that. It just wasn’t in her nature to do so.

Maybe if the two brothers had waited sometime before confronting her, she wouldn’t be itching for a fight. To make Damon pay. But a couple of days were not enough to cool her explosive and legendary temper. She was still oh so very pissed. And the fact that the brothers had chosen to come to her – to her house – made it all the more perfect. Here, inside the wards she’d designed herself, nobody would get the upper hand from her. Here, she held all the cards on her hand. And they even didn’t know about it.

So she let them got inside her land and walk all the way to her porch. And, a moment later, the bell rang. 

“Does mistress want Kreacher to deal with the disgusting half-breeds?” the elf asked, sneering in the direction of the front door while wielding a frying pan and a long knife in each of his skinny hands like he was readying himself for a fight to the death. Knowing Kreacher’s blood-thirsty tendencies and abilities, if there was ever a fight between him and vampire then she would bet all her money on her elf.

“Don’t worry, Kreacher. I can handle it.”

“Is mistress sure?” the elf insisted, staring longingly at his knife and making it very clear that he was itching to kill some vampires on his own too. Not like she was planning on killing someone or anything. It was just an expression, of course.

Aria forced herself to suppress her smile, she needed to look professional and composed. Nothing could give her away until it was the right moment. “Yes, Kreacher.” The bell rang once more “And, please, hide no matter what. I don’t want them to know about you.”

The old house-elf put out expression was eerily similar to Teddy’s. “As mistress wishes” he sighed, and then he promptly popped out of the room.

Fondly rolling her eyes, she made calmly her way to her front door, knowing whoever was outside couldn’t hear anything that was happening inside the house. Smoothing her expression into one of cool indifference, she opened her door and was met with two familiars, and pretty much expected, faces. 

“Hello there, gorgeous. Fancy meeting you here.” Damon Salvatore said, smirking seductively in her direction. 

Not even all her years learning under Augusta Longbottom about how to act like a lady of her station – because Merlin forbid the Lady of two Noble and Most Ancient Houses so much as sneezed in public – could have prevented her from rolling her eyes at such a blatant pick-up line. Of course, nobody could deny Damon’s physical attractiveness and she supposed he caught the attention of the teenager population with his stereotypical bad boy persona, but if he used that kind of lines on actually grown-ups and they fell for it then she’d severely overestimated the intelligence of the people in this town.

“Am I supposed to swoon or something?” she asked, lifting an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Only if you don’t mind falling into my arms” Damon said, winking.

Aria scoffed. “Do these lines actually work on people?” she couldn’t help but ask, genuinely curious, to the younger brother, who was wearing an impressive exasperated face.

“Unfortunately” Stefan confessed, pained.

At the same time, the older brother said “Of course they work. Have you seen me, princess? I’m a catch.” he said, leaning into her conspiratorially and oozing the kind of self-importance that reminded her of more than one uppity pure-blood jerk back home.

“Personally, I can’t see the appeal” she said indifferently, giving Damon a bored once over and meeting his eyes once more, daring him to say something. “All I see is an immature boy with zero charm and a black color fetish. Not even the face is that pretty.”

The way his jaw clenched and his eyes flashed with irritation, only to disappear a moment later when his younger brother shot him a look, told her more about him than he probably realized. Because in those few seconds, she’d got to see the barely restrained predator that hid under the surface, always ready to come out at the least sign of something not going according to his plans. He’d quite the temper, this vampire, and he didn’t have total control over it.

She could use that.

“But where are my manners? You’re probably here for a reason. Please, come in.” she said deliberately, smiling with perfect politeness to mask her smugness over the fact that she’d fooled them into believing something as unreliable and fickle as an invitation to come to her house was the key to get inside. 

Damon’s eyes flashed with triumph at her words and she’d to put all her energy on maintaining her face even, not letting him on the fact that he’d fallen on her trap and no the other way around. In contrast, Stefan regarded her with wary suspicion, like he knew it couldn’t be that easy but he wasn’t sure where the catch was. She only smiled innocently in response, guiding them into the living room, where she let herself fall into her favorite armchair without a care in the world. A moment later, both brothers took their seats in front of her.

“Well then, please tell me why you decided to upset my morning plans and grace me with your unwanted presence” Aria said, and looking directly at Stefan she added “I thought I made it clear that I don’t want anything to do with you.”

Stefan looked a little apologetic as he avoided her gaze. His brother just looked unrepentant, smirking flippantly in her direction. “Yeah, you see, I don’t believe that indifferent act for a second. You’re a witch, a servant of nature and all that blah blah blah. It's impossible you don't care about the unholy terror Katherine is going to wreck in this town, Miss London”

Ignoring pretty much everything else he said, Aria focused on the one thing that sounded familiar. “Katherine? Wasn’t she the one who killed Caroline?”

“Yeah.” Stefan said, his face grave “Katherine is a very old, dangerous, and powerful vampire who sees everyone as a pawn of her game and won’t hesitate to take any life if it benefits her.”

“She’s a bitch and we hate her” Damon added, helpfully.

“And you’re telling me this because…?”

The brothers exchange a quick look before turning her attention back to her. “We’re hoping you could help us to take her out” Stefan said carefully, probably knowing he was treading on uncharted waters and any mistake could be fatal. “I know you said you don’t care about us but you clearly care about other people’s lives, otherwise you wouldn’t have helped Caroline that night of the carnival or saved our lives from Mason the other night… Katherine is a very dangerous threat to the people of this town.”

What followed was an unnecessary but informative explanation of how both brothers met and fell in love with Katherine in 1864, how they got killed and turned trying to save her life, how they met Elena the year before and how shocked they’d been about the fact that she looked exactly the same as the older vampire – and if that wasn’t rooted on some magical spell or something, she would eat her old socks – and what happened when the tomb was opened and the vampires got out, as well as Katherine’s machinations and constants threats towards Elena and her loved ones.

Basically, they explained in depth all the messes they’d been in the last six months, most of which she’d already been aware in some capacity due to their inability to keep a bloody secret. 

However, what really caught her attention, was Katherine’s actions. The vampire was clearly sly, cunning, and very intelligent, capable of masterfully orchestrating her own fake death and sentence her allies to an eternity of suffering as a means to an end. And it didn’t make any sense that she would throw all that away and came back to the same town in which she faked said death just because she wanted to torment a human girl with her same face. It couldn’t even be about Stefan or Damon because if she really wanted to be with them, she would have let them know she was alive a long time ago. Which meant there’d to be more on the story, something else everyone was missing because they were too focused on protecting Elena. The only question was what.

“While the history lesson has been mildly entertaining, I still don’t see why I should help you”

Damon growled, his whole face contorting into a rare mix of viciousness and a bit of mockery. “Are you deaf, Morgana le Fay? We just told you how dangerous Katherine is.”

“Yes, she’s as dangerous as any other experienced and old vampire.” She pointed out, plainly “But if you think I’m going to let myself be used in your petty little vampire affair just because Elena Gilbert’s life is in danger then you’re clearly delusional. As far as I’m concerned, her life isn’t worth the effort.”

Perhaps not so surprisingly, Damon shot up to his feet after hearing her words, baring his teeth at her threateningly, proving her that he was in love with his brother’s girlfriend. A girl with the same face as his former lover, the one who had played with his and his brother’s affections in a game that had ultimately lead to their deaths. How pathetic. 

“Damon” Stefan warned, also getting to his feet and restraining his brother from jumping towards her with both hands. But even if he seemed to be trying to act rational, she caught the way his whole body was tensed and the fire burning on his clear green eyes. Stefan was furious too. 

Good.

“No, no, let him go, Stefan. I’m dying to see what’s he’s going to do” Aria mocked, still comfortably seated and smiling tauntingly in the direction of the more volatile Salvatore brother. “Show me your real self, Damon. Show me the vampire that killed dozens of townspeople without hesitation, basking on the chaos he brought. Show me the monster who used an innocent young girl for blood and sex without any kind of hesitation…. Let me see the true face of the pathetic vampire who is in love with his younger brother’s human girlfriend.”

Apparently, the dig about his feelings for Elena was all she truly need to say for him to lose completely his temper. Damon snarled, his vampire appearing as he flashed towards her, pushing his younger brother aside without second thought.

“Damon, no!”

The older brother didn’t even get the chance to lay a hand on her. Before he reached her, the wards on the house were activated against the imminent threat towards her life and Damon fell to the ground, twisting and crying out in pain as the wards inflicted on him excruciating pain, the equivalent of three combined cruciatus curses. From her seat, Aria stared at him dispassionately, mentally counting the time.

“Stop!” Stefan cried, rushing towards her at vampire speed.

Without looking at him, she simply lifted her hand and sent him flying to the other side of the room. Her quarrel wasn’t with him. He’d no right to interfere. Not when he’d stood aside and done nothing before, only interfering when Elena was involved in some way.

When she reached one hundredth and thirty seconds on her mental count, she stood up and canceled the curse on Damon with a mental order. “You’ve got some nerve to come here and demand my help to kill another vampire for you….” she observed, walking towards the vampire still shaking on her carpet. “What gives you the right to judge another when your hands are just as bloody? What made you think I would help the person that abuse my only friend in this Merlin-forsaken town?”

“Really?” Damon spat, lifting his head to stare defiantly at her “All this is just for Blondie?”

Aria lifted an eyebrow, not dignifying him with an answer as she silently wondered if the vampire in front of her even knew the true meaning of things like friendship and loyalty.

“Please, Aria. Elena is one of Caroline’s oldest friends” Stefan piped as he slowly made his way towards them. “She would be heartbroken if something happens to Elena.”

“I was already aware of that friendship” she said, darkly amused by his pathetic attempt to manipulate her feelings on the matter. “And I’m still don’t care about your girlfriend’s life.”

“If you’re always this much of a bitch, it’s no wonder your only living family chose to put an ocean between the two of you” Damon taunted, smirking maliciously “Then again, with that bitchy attitude, it’s no wonder you get on with Blondie”

She scoffed. “You know, I keep trying to see the appeal in you but all I can see is a big disgusting pig. The only thing missing is a tail and nose to match.” And, without giving him time to think on her words, she waved her hand on his direction and watched in satisfaction as Damon’s nose morphed to become a big pig’s nose and the back of his trousers broke as his new tail grew. As a bonus, she changed the color of his clothes to bright, garish pink.

Stefan’s jaw fell open as he stared wide-eyed to his brother. And Damon let out a hilarious squeak as he jumped from one side to the other after feeling the new additions on his body. He turned towards her, blue eyes burning and looking downright murderous. “YOU--”

“Let’s make something clear, right now I’m actually playing nice… But if you hurt or threaten Caroline in any way, I’ll come after you without hesitation. And when I do, you’ll be wishing for your deaths. Because I don’t believe in quick deaths when someone has wronged the people I care about.” She declared and, for the first time, she let her voice carry the hot fury coursing through her veins. “Now, I think you’ve extended your welcome long enough.” And with another wave of her hand, she sent the two vampires flying outside, where they fell in an undignified pile on the ground.

“Bitch! Change me back!” Damon hollered, getting up and running towards the entrance of her house once more, only to be sent back flying ten feet away because of the wards.

“It’s pretty funny how you actually thought I was going to give you free access to my house” Aria smiled, mentally raising another protection on the shields of her wards. “Goodbye, gentleman. I hope we don’t see each other anytime soon.” And she watched in amused satisfaction as the two brothers – Damon yelling profanities all the while – were dragged by an invisible hand to outside the edge of her property. They would never be able to get inside again without her explicit consent.

With a relaxed sigh, Aria closed her door. It was over. Her warning had been delivered. Whatever happened next, it would be on them.

“What do you think, Kreacher?”

“Mistress should have killed them” the elf answered promptly, popping at her side “Filthy half-breeds daring to insult and attack my glorious mistress. Oh, how Kreacher whishes mistress had allowed him to give them a lesson with his knife.”

Aria snorted, picturing perfectly well what Kreacher would have done with said knife. “It’s a pity the transformation won’t last long” A couple of days at most, depending on how much blood Damon drank to accelerate the healing process. “I would have loved to take a picture or two.” For Teddy and Caroline’s amusement, of course… And maybe made a copy for her personal collection.

“Mistress doesn’t have to worry” her elf said, producing a camera out of nothing “Kreacher will take care of that”

She beamed at him, big and delighted, as she understood the meaning of his words. “I swear, you’re the best house-elf ever!”

* * *

**& &&//03//&&&**

* * *

There was something about keeping an eye on your prey while they went on with their lives, completely ignorant of the risk they were in, that never ceased to thrill Katherine. It was an electrifying kind of rush, the knowledge that she was the only one in control of the situation, the one with the power to make others bow at her will. And at that moment, as she silently watched how Caroline went back to her house after spending her morning on her school, Katherine knew the perfect moment to make her presence known had finally arrived.

She stayed in the shadows, listening to how Caroline curse under her breath as she tried to call her witchy friend, only for the call to be rejected and sent to voicemail. With a curse, the blonde vampire called again, as she’d done, over and over again, for the last fifteen minutes. It was becoming horribly tiresome.

“C’mon… Pick-up the damn phone, Bonnie…. You can’t ignore me forever, I’m one of your closest friends.” Caroline growled, throwing herself onto her bed without even realizing there was someone else in the room with her.

It was so delightfully perfect.

“Witches, always so judgy, right?” Katherine commented, sauntering into the room with deliberate steps.

To her mild surprise, Caroline reacted faster than she’d expected. In an instant, she jumped out of her bed, crossed her room, and tried to jump from the open window. But Katherine was faster, blocking her way out before she could escape.

“Tut, tut. That’s no way to treat a guest” she taunted with a smirk, enjoying the way Caroline backed away from her slowly, eyeing her warily.

“What do you want, Katherine?”

“Oh, I just wanted to make sure how you were doing… you know, since I killed you” She said, her tone casual and a bit friendly, sounding almost like she was chatting with a friend. “And I’ve been so bored lately that I thought I should pay you a visit… Maybe even finish what I started in that hospital. This time for real.”

She’d been planning this for days. To come here and threaten Caroline into submission. Force her into becoming her little spy in Elena’s group. Her little pawn and hand-made sacrifice for Klaus. However, to her ever-growing annoyance, her plans had taken a lot more time than she’d previously expected because Caroline had gone off the radar for days and hadn’t slept in her house since the day she’d been turned. What made it all the more aggravating, was the fact that Katherine had no idea where the blonde had been spending her nights and a good part of her days. But she didn’t have the time to be tracking down a baby vampire who, in the grand scale of things, wasn’t even remotely significant. Luckily, before Katherine had lost completely her patience and decided to just kill the annoying blonde the next time she saw her, Caroline had come out of whatever little shit-hole she’d been hiding all these days.

“Are you here to kill me?” the blonde asked carefully, her blue eyes shining with something she didn’t understand.

“Oh, don’t worry. As long as you keep me entertained, you’ll be safe… If you don’t, well, things would end up very messy, if you know what I mean.”

Caroline swallowed, understating the clear threat. And even if Katherine could clearly see the fear shining in her eyes, the blonde stood still and annoyingly composed. “What do you want, Katherine?” she repeated, staring right into her eyes.

Katherine lifted an eyebrow, amused by the little act of defiance. “Oh, nothing special… I just want to have fun. You are going to help to have some fun with Elena and the Salvatore brothers.”

She expected crying pleads or fearful denials after the blonde understood exactly what she wanted from her. What she didn’t expect was the way Caroline’s expression hardened after hearing her words, her eyes shining with a strange sort of grim determination. “No” she said resolute, still infuriatingly calm and composed “I won’t help you. You can hurt me and even kill me if that’s what you want but I won’t be another pawn in your games… I refuse to be used by anyone ever again.”

Katherine laughed. “It’s that so?” And, without giving her any warning, she let her vampire face surface as she snarled at the blonde, flashing towards her with the intention of broke her spine, over and over again, for daring to defy her.

She hadn’t expected to be sent flying back by a shield vibrating with sheer magical power, wasn’t even prepared for it, but she hadn’t survived so many centuries on the run for nothing. She landed on her feet, at the other side of the room, staring at Caroline in shock. For the first time, not feeling in control of the situation. “That’s not wiccan magic. How....?” She stopped talking as she remembered who was living in Mystic Falls. Even centuries later, Ingrid was known to have been one of the strongest wand-wielders witches on the history of the wizarding community. But if she’d been reborn with her powers, why hadn’t she made herself known before? Why now? “Why, out of everyone in this miserable town, did she choose you to be under her protection?” she wondered out loud, infuriated.

The way Caroline’s eyes opened in surprise and alarm was all the confirmation she needed. The blonde knew. Knew about wand-wielders and the magical community, at least enough to know they were supposed to be a secret that shouldn’t be spoken. Most importantly, she knew Aria Black was a wand-wielder witch.

Caroline was under Ingrid’s reincarnation protection.

And Katherine couldn’t go against her. Not when she needed Ingrid's reincarnation to guarantee her freedom. To get on Klaus’s good side.

“This is your lucky day” she spat, glaring towards the silent blonde. 

Without saying anything else, she turned and flashed out of the house. She needed to consider carefully this. But, more importantly, she needed to change her plans. And quick.

* * *

**& &&//03//&&&**

* * *

“And she just left after that?” Aria asked, pacing along her living room as her mind raced with everything Caroline had just told her.

“Yeah” the blonde nodded, biting her lower lip with nervousness “Aria, it was like she….”

“…knew about me” She completed because, yeah, she’d already thought about it “And the existence of the magical community”

And as she thought about it, she remembered something she hadn’t thought twice about, not with everything else that went down that day. “Caroline, did you ask Elena to take pictures of the committee for you the day of the carnival?”

“Of course not” she scoffed “I needed Elena to stay focused on managing the carnival. I wasn’t about to split her focus with another task…. Why?”

Aria closed her eyes with resignation as her mind connected the pieces. “Because someone who looked exactly like Elena took a picture of me, saying she was doing it for you.”

“…and you think it was Katherine masquerading herself as Elena once more. But why? Why would she need a picture of you?”

“She probably knows who I am”

It was the only thing that made sense. It explained why Katherine had taken a picture of her and why she’d backed away from Caroline when she’d understood she was under her protection. After all, everyone in the magical world knew how powerful she was. But, at the same time, it didn’t make sense at all. If Katherine truly knew she was Aria Potter – the famous Girl-Who-Conquered – then something should have happened by now. She’d a picture of her, one that proved she still looked seventeen at the age of twenty-nine. With that picture in her possession, she could have tried to blackmail or threaten her. Or worse, she could have sold that information to the biggest bidder. But it had been almost two weeks and nothing had happened. Why? What game was this vampire playing? And how did she fit in the puzzle?

“I don’t understand. What do you mean when you said Katherine knows who you are?” Caroline demanded, frowning in confusion “And why are you so focused on that? I thought you would be more worried about the fact that she knows about the wizarding world. You know, the one you told me no one should know about?”

“Because I’m pretty sure she was turned before 1692 and that means she’s incapable of telling someone else about the existence of the magical world”

“What?! What are you talking about, Aria? Nothing you’re saying makes any sense”

She sighed. This was it, wasn’t it? It was time to tell Caroline the truth. And wow, she didn’t even where to start. It was such a long story, one that started centuries before either of them were born. But she needed to tell her, Caroline deserved the truth. After all, it affected both of their lives.

“Okay” She said, nodding to herself “I’m going to tell you a story, a long one. So make sure you’re comfortable because once I start, I probably won’t be able to stop until the end.”

Caroline lifted both of her eyebrows, visibly surprised, but obediently sat on one of the couches.

“So… have you ever wondered where all those stories about wizards, vampires, dragons, fairies, and other magical creatures come from? If the non-magical people never knew anything about the magical world, how come they have so many books, legends, and stories about us?” Aria asked, knowing this was a good beginning for her tale.

“I don’t know. I suppose I never thought much about it.” Caroline answered, frowning.

“It’s because, for most of the history of humankind, the magical and non-magical worlds coexisted as one without the need of secrecy, and most of those stories were based, at least in part, on the real thing.”

“That’s incredible” Caroline gushed for a moment, excited. But she must have seen the grimace on her face because she tilted her head to the side, considering. “What changed though? Why the magical world is a secret now?”

Aria pursed her lips, trying to find the gentlest way to explain this to someone who had been a muggle up until two weeks before, someone whose life was still firmly rooted on the muggle world. “The first thing you've to remember is that history has proved, time and time again, that humans tend to fear the things that they don’t understand. The things that are different. And the magical and non-magical people had never been able to really understand one another. So, for as long as it’d been recorded, our people coexisted feeling wary and afraid… and maybe even a little hateful towards those that weren’t like them. Using every opportunity to start all sorts of conflicts. And, over time, it created an invisible line that divided the magical and non-magical people.”

“But that doesn’t seem right. We’re all humans.” Caroline argued. “Nobody should think like it’s us versus them.”

She couldn’t help but smile at those words, appreciating the blonde’s kind nature. “Well, as I said, it’s part of human nature and there not much you and I can do about it… Anyway, back to the story, this invisible line meant that, slowly, those that considered themselves as a part of the magical world started to distance themselves from the non-magical one, creating places that were accessible only for those who had magic... And here it’s important you keep in mind that wiccan witches have always been firmly considered as non-magical people because the magic they use isn’t their own… In any case, it the mist of all this, the original vampires appeared in the world.”

“What?! What do you mean with original vampires?!”

Aria shrugged. “Exactly like it sounds. The original vampires are the first five vampires in existence. From them, the entire vampire race was created.”

Caroline’s mouth fell open.

“Think about it. You were turned with Damon’s blood. He was turned with Katherine’s, who was turned with some other vampire’s blood. And so on until you reach a vampire that was turned with the blood of one of the originals.” She explained, gesturing with her hands in an effort to explain it better. 

“Are you seriously telling me that the entire vampire race was started by these five originals?”

“Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Wow. And do you know how…?”

Aria was shaking her head before Caroline could finish her question, already knowing what she wanted to know. “Nobody knows how they came to be. The only thing we know for sure is that, over a thousand years ago, the five original vampires and the Immortal Witch came in contact with the founders of the first magical school in Europe. And from that moment on, the vampire race started to spread around the world.”

“Wait… Immortal Witch?”

“She’s one of the most important magical figures in our history” she revealed, thinking back of all the books in which the immortal witch had been mentioned in one way or another “Like with the originals, we don’t know anything of her prior her first contact with founders of Hogwarts – that’s the name of the school by the way – but after that, there are records of her in almost every magical community in the world. She lived for centuries after all.”

Caroline gaped. “Really?”

“Sure. Where do you think the title of Immortal Witch came from?” she asked, amused “There are a lot of different stories about her but what every single one of them has in common is that she’s described as a forever young and beautiful witch, who was ridiculously powerful and inventive, as well as kind enough to take under her wing young witches and wizards. More importantly, none of the stories fail to mention that she was always surrounded by the original vampires as she seemed to consider them as her family. Some stories even say that she was married to one of them but who knows. She died centuries ago.”

“Do you know how she died?” the blonde asked, her eyes alight with curiosity “I mean, you said she was a powerful witch who lived for centuries and was as good as family with the original vampires so…. How someone like her dies?”

Aria grimaced. Here it came, one of the most important parts of the story. “Okay, so you’ve to understand that the immortal witch was respect – if not loved – by the magical communities around the world. For them, she was a living legend, a symbol, and an icon… But she was also pretty feared by the non-magical people who knew of her magical abilities. For them, she was the living representation of the unnatural. A threat that needed to be deal with.” She paused, letting her words sink in before continuing. “Nobody knows for sure how it happened but what we know is that, in 1652, she was betrayed by the wiccan witches and the non-magical people of the village she was living in... The captured her, somehow blocked her magic, stabbed her six times, and finally burned her alive.”

“That’s awful” Caroline gasped, her shaking hand covering her open mouth.

“It was.” she agreed, because dying by betrayal was a sad end for someone who had been so great “What’s worse, her death was the beginning of a long and bloody conflict between the magical and non-magical world… As I told you, she was respected by the magical communities. Not only by wizards and witches but by vampires, goblins, centaurs, and a lot of other magical creatures because, by all accounts, she was kind to everyone she met. And her death shocked and horrified all of them. It spread hate and fear, which cemented the line between us and them. Only this time, instead of putting distance, the response was violence. Muggles were captured, tortured, and killed for sport… And, in return, groups of non-magical people organize themselves and hunted down everything they thought had a little bit of magic in them. It didn’t matter if they were wizards, unicorns, centaurs, vampires, or any other creature. It didn’t matter if they were young or old, or even if they were innocent or not. If you were connected to magic in some way, you were hunted down and killed.”

Caroline’s face was paled, her expression sad but her eyes were glistening with grim understanding. “That’s why the magical world became a secret, isn’t it?”

Aria nodded. “For all that we’ve magic in our side, we’re massively unnumbered and thousands of lives were lost. And so, in 1689, the leaders of the different magical communities around the world gathered and decided that enough was enough. Our worlds couldn’t coexist anymore, at least not in the open, and so the International Statute of Secrecy was created…. Basically, the Statute said that the magical world needed to be secret, and, for that to happen, the non-magical people needed to forget about our existence. So, in a historical and pretty much unique event, every magical creature who could actively use their magic, including wizards and witches, pull together their magic to create a very, very, very powerful spell that was cast in 1692 and erased the belief of our world from all the non-magical people, making them think that everything they knew about our world was a fantasy.”

“Wiccan witches were not included in the Statute, right? They forgot about the magical world too.” At her nod, Caroline bit her lip as she contemplated something on her head. “And what about vampires?”

“I was waiting for you to ask about it” Aria admitted, smiling slightly “The situation of the vampire race was a complicated one because the vast majority of them live in the muggle world and because of that there were some people who thought they should forget too. At least, until the original vampires intervened and put forward a proposal that the majority considered acceptable.”

Caroline blinked, surprised. “The originals were invited to that meeting?”

“I told you they are the first of your race and, therefore, also the strongest. Some even say they are indestructible. They may not carry titles like kings and queens but they’re the default leaders of your kind. So yeah, they were invited… And they proposed the creation of a spell that used their respective magical connection with each of their bloodlines to force all the vampires in existence, up until that moment, to keep in secret the magical world from everyone who didn’t already know about it.”

“What?! I don’t… What’s a bloodline? And what do you mean with magical connection?”

“A bloodline is formed by all the vampires who were sired, however indirectly, with the blood of one of the originals. For example, in your case, your bloodline is the same as the Salvatore brothers, Katherine and whoever else was turned with that blood” Aria said, trying to be as clear as possible “And all the vampires that are from the same bloodline share a magical link, connecting them to their respective original… From what I know, the link can’t be felt by a vampire but is there, tethering all the vampires in existence to the originals.”

“That sounds… unbelievable” Caroline said, looking a little freaked out. “But, anyway, you said they used this creepy connection to force all the vampires to keep the secret?”

She nodded. “A spell was created to use this connection to basically put a lock on the minds of every vampire, preventing them from speaking about the magical world to anyone who didn’t already know about it. The only thing that wasn’t locked was anything exclusively pertinent to the existence of the vampire race.”

“… Wait, you said the spell worked for every vampire turned up until that point. But what happens with all the vampires that were turned after?” What about me? Caroline didn’t say but might as well, with how easy it was to read her thought from her expression.

“Well, you’ve to understand those kinds of spells – the ones used on the vampires and the muggles – are very, very complex. They don’t work for the future. They affect everyone alive in that precise moment of time. But everyone who is born or turn after wasn’t going to be affected by it. Which is the reason why every magical government was tasked with the responsibility of making sure the secret was kept secret… In that regard, the originals decided that any future vampire that came across the magical should abide by the laws dictated by the respective government” Seeing the confusion on Caroline’s face, Aria added “It’s a bit like this. By law, vampires are considered magical creatures and every vampire that knows about the magical world is welcome in it. But… if the vampire doesn’t know about the magical world then we let them live in ignorance. We're only forced to tell them the truth if they come across proof of the magical community.” 

“That’s why you don’t want to use your wand around Stefan and Damon” Caroline realized, blue eyes shining with understanding “You don’t want them to be on the secret.”

Aria shrugged, unapologetic. “The government has modern ways to make sure vampires don’t go spilling the secret of our world. But once they are told, that’s it, they’re a part of it…. And I’m sorry, I know you consider Stefan a friend, but I don’t trust him or his brother with the great and terrible things my people can do with magic.”

To her mild surprise, Caroline didn’t seem upset about her words. If anything, she seemed perfectly amicable with it. “It’s okay. Having an idea of what your kind can do, I don’t think I would trust them either with access to it.” Caroline paused, contemplative. “And I guess that answers my question about why you’re not worried over Katherine’s knowledge of the magical word… You think she’d already been turned by the time the Statute was put in place.”

She nodded. “For what you told me, she was very careful about what she said. And only someone with some prior knowledge of the magical world would have understood what she was saying… Besides, she met the Salvatore’s in 1864, and she was an already old vampire by then. So no, I’m not worried about her telling someone about our world.”

“But you’re worried about her knowing who you are” Caroline reminded her, eyes sharp “Do you mind explaining that one?”

Well, she should have expected that one. And it wasn’t like she was planning to hide the truth from Caroline, not anymore at least. “Okay… but first, you need to know a little more about our history.” She chuckled at the blonde’s unimpressed look. “Trust me, this is very relevant…. So, you’ve to understand the Statute of Secrecy made something palpably clear for the magical world: Non-magical people are not the same as us. Not only because we don’t have the same traditions and beliefs but for their inability to accept magic. Because of them, we were forced to hide and became a secret on a planet that also belong to us. And that knowledge caused a lot of apathy towards the muggle world, their affairs and pretty much their lives in general. But it also generated a lot of resentment and hate towards anything that was related in some way to the muggle world, including the wizards and witches who were born from non-magical parents.”

“Why?” Caroline asked, aghast “Those witches and wizards have the same magic as the rest of you, why it matters if their parents aren’t magical as well?”

“I never understand it either.” Aria admitted because, even almost twenty years later, she was still baffled that some people cared so much about something as unimportant as blood. “But anyway, around forty years ago in Great Britain, a very powerful dark wizard, named Lord Voldemort, started a war to get rid of everyone who was somehow connected to those of non-magical blood. For him and his followers, if you were a muggle, you were so inferior that your life didn’t have value. If your parents weren’t magical, you were filth who didn’t deserve to live. And if you opposed him in any way, you were branded a traitor who needed to die… Before anyone was prepared, there was an all-out war between everyone who followed Voldemort and everyone on the light side who thought his ideas and methods were despicable.”

“For the record, I’m in full support of the light side” Caroline pointed out, brow furrowed with disgust “I can’t believe people actually followed this Lord Voldemort person. His ideas sound all kinds of awful.”

“They were. Very, very much so. And a lot of people, on both sides, lost their lives because of it.” Aria sighed, knowing the most important part was coming “Anyway, by 1980, the light side was pretty much losing. Voldemort’s followers had successfully infiltrated the government, most of the population was too scared to do anything and a lot of good and important families from the light side had been killed. And in that context, a prophecy was made. It was foretold that a baby with the power to finally kill Voldemort and end the war was going to born… Can you guess who this baby was?”

For a long moment, Caroline just frowned in confusion, as she tried to figure out the answer. But then her expression cleared and she stared at her, wide-eyed and mouth open. “…you?” she asked in a whisper, her expression horrified.

“Yeah” she confirmed, her mouth twisting into a grimace just by thinking about the bloody thing. “My parents were killed when I was a baby because I was the child of the prophecy. The bloody chosen one … By the time I was seventeen, I’d survived more than most people do on several lifetimes. Not only that but I also was the default leader of the light side and one of their best fighters… And I would like to say that I did my best and I’ve no regrets but, by Merlin and Morgana, that would be a bloody lie because you’ve no idea how many people I lost to the war.” Ignoring Caroline’s compassionate look, Aria took a deep breath in an effort to calm the dull ached in her heart as she thought about every single one of them. “Anyway, the damn prophecy was right. In 1998, I fought Voldemort and killed him, ending the war for good.”

Caroline gaped, astonished. “In 1998?! But… That’s…. You….” The blonde swallowed, studying her with new eyes, like she was seeing her for the first time. “How old are you?”

“I’m going to be thirty at the end of July” she admitted with a causal smile “And before you ask, no. It isn’t normal for witches and wizards to not age. Our magic allows us to live longer than muggles but we age and die like any other mortal. Or, at least, that’s what it’s supposed to happen… My messed up situation is a very unique case. It’s the result of something that happened by the end of the war, something that should have killed me but didn’t. And I didn’t think much about it, at least not until years had gone by and I realized that my aging process had stopped completely. After that, I decided to leave behind the magical world in an effort to keep my situation a secret.”

“But why keep it a secret?” Caroline demanded in confusion “You won a war. You’re a hero for your people. If they knew you’ve stopped aging, they’re going to accept you! Just like they accepted the immortal witch all those centuries ago”

Aria shook her head, rejecting the idea immediately. “You see, that’s the thing. I don’t want that. I’ve been famous in my world since I was a baby, I know what’s like to be the center of their attention. To carry their expectations and hopes in my shoulders. To live for them. I know what’s like to be their savior… And I don’t want that. All I ever wanted was to have a normal life. And if I’d stayed and told the truth, I never would have had a moment of peace.”

“I’m sorry for everything you went through” Caroline said, her blue eyes sad “And I’m so sorry you were forced to leave your world and everyone you loved behind just because you wanted some peace and happiness. You deserve better than that.”

“It’s okay, Caroline.” She promised, smiling. “Besides, I didn’t leave everyone I loved behind. Teddy and Kreacher have always been with me. And my best friends visit me all the time.”

“Teddy? Your little brother? Wait. He can’t be your brother. Not after what you said about your parents…. Who is he?”

“My son” The way Caroline’s jaw dropped and her eyes bulged out their sockets was hilarious. “Well, adopted son. His parents named me his godmother and they died on the war so I took custody of him and later adopted him.”

“Wow…. Wow… I wasn’t expecting that. Like at all.” She said slowly, shaking her head in incredulity. As the seconds passed, her expression turned contemplative “Is your name really Aria Black? Or is that another part of your cover story?”

“My real name is Aria Dorea Potter-Black” she said, smiling “By the way, it’s a pleasure to properly meet you.”

The girl huffed a laugh. “I could say the same… As long as you don’t drop on me another huge revelation bomb.” Aria grimaced and Caroline groaned, incredulous “Seriously?!”

“I’ve one more revelation. I promise that it’s the last one.” Aria said, giving her best puppy eyes.

Caroline sighed, smiling reluctantly. “Well then, go on”

“There’s this thing called magical guardianship. It’s a bond made by Lady Magic herself. It binds two people to make them guardian and ward. Family. And the night of the carnival, after I saved your life, Lady Magic bonded the two of us like that.” Seeing the way the blonde gaped at her, Aria hurried to add “I know this a little crazy. But I want you to know that I’m very happy Lady Magic choose you to be my family, Caroline.”

For a long and tense moment, as she stared at Caroline’s frozen expression, Aria feared the girl would decide to reject the bond. But then stiffness in Caroline’s expression melted away, becoming shy and hopeful instead. “You said we’re family now… Does that mean you can be my sister?”

Aria beamed, elated. “I’ll be honored to be your sister… Welcome to the Potter-Black family, Caroline Forbes.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to tell me what you think ;)


	5. Nothing is like it seems at First Glance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry!! I never intended to take more than a month to upload this chapter but in between my mid-term exams (this is my last semester of university so the workload is insane) and some personal issues, I didn't have time to finish writing this chapter. But, better late than never, right? On that note, thank you so much for all your comments, kudos, subscribes, and bookmarks. All of them cheered me up these last few weeks and motivated me to finish writing this chapter.  
> Oh, right, before you read this new chapter, for those of you that remember very well how the events played in TVD canon, you should take into consideration how Aria's actions have affected the timeline in the present: She saved Stefan and Caroline from Mason and explained that the attack wasn't personal, so Damon didn't have any reason to go against Mason, especially because he and Stefan were focused on gaining Aria's help. And because that didn't happen, none of the events of the picnic happen, i.e., Mason didn't tell the sheriff that Damon and Stefan were vampires, so Caroline wasn't forced to reveal herself to her mom or spend time with the rest of the gang.  
> Anyway, I hope that was clear and that you'll like this new chapter.  
> P.S. Stay safe! Stay positive! Stay strong!

#  **CHAPTER IV**

**NOTHING IS LIKE IT SEEMS AT FIRST GLANCE**

**_England, 1492 A.D._ **

_“No. No! You can’t add ashwinder eggs, brother!” Ingrid protested, trying – and failing – to take said eggs out of her brother’s hands. “It’s going to ruin the potion!”_

_“It’s going to be just fine, sister.” Kol insisted, smirking in her direction when she was forced to jump in an effort to reach his raised arm. “Who is the expert here?”_

_“Me” she declared confidently, smirking right back at him “Or do you not remember that some magical communities believe I’m the greatest witch in existence?”_

_“Please, sister, that’s nothing” he scoffed, brown eyes glistening with amusement “Those same communities believe I’m the greatest potion master in the history of the world…. And, considering we’re debating adding an ingredient to a potion we’re inventing, I’m clearly the superior expert here.”_

_“Perhaps.” she conceded, shrugging. Because she wasn’t going to deny that, out the two of them, he was the one with the superior potion-making abilities. “But I’m better at the arithmancy behind the potions and we both have been working together on this for the last decade. So, I believe I’ve enough credibility to argue your decision to add ashwinder eggs…. Because, I’m telling you, brother, that it's going to mess up the careful balance we’ve created so far.”_

_“Or is going to be the breakthrough we’ve been looking for.” Kol argued, his dark brown eyes shining with the same kind of fierce determination and passion she distinctly remembered from their childhood days, when they practiced magic together. And, at that moment, it was almost palpable how much he loved this, having the ability to practice a branch of magic that he could do on his own._

_Finding she was actually a wand-wielding witch – never mind that she hadn’t known there were different kinds of witches before they’d met the founders of Hogwarts – had brought a lot of consequences for them all. But, if there was one thing she would always be grateful for, it was the joy and wonder that revelation had brought on Kol._

_After learning about the existence of another kind of witches and wizards – and all the other magical creatures – her brother had thrown himself to learn everything that there was to know about wand-wielding magic alongside with her. Together, just like when they were children, they’d learned spells, curses, and the history of her – their – people. Together, they’d gone over all the differences between wiccan and wand-wielding magic, marveling over the fact that, when you were a wand-wielder, your only true limit was your imagination. And, together, they’d learned that, while he would never be able to actively use his magic again, Kol could still be a part of the magical community._

_He could still belong to the world of magic._

_First, it’d been because he was a magical creature – an original vampire – and that carried a lot of weight on the magical circles, especially after the vampire race started to grow. Then, it’d been because, as the years passed by and she kept sharing daily the feeling of her magic with him, Kol had slowly developed the ability to feel all the magic around him. His ability had developed to the point that it didn’t matter if the source of the magic came from someone – like her – or a specific place – like their warded homes; Kol was able to constantly feel the thrumming and humming of all the magic around him, almost like when he was a warlock. And finally, it’d been because they’d learned that potion making didn’t require active use of magic so Kol was perfectly capable of creating magical potions. And, like everything else related to magic, her brother had proved himself to be quite the prodigy on that particular subject, creating and perfecting potions with ability and creativity that had amazed everyone, including old and experienced potion masters from all around the world._

_And, as the decades passed by and her brother found a place of his own in the magical community, his old and deep wounds, caused by his sudden and unwanted loss of wiccan magic, had started to heal, allowing Kol to accept himself again. To love himself again. To be happy with himself again._

_And this, the fierceness in his eyes and the passion in his words, were proof of that._

_“Fine” Ingrid caved, seeing how serious he was about this. “Let’s hope it doesn’t blow up in our faces.” But, just in case, she took out her wand._

_“That’s the spirit” Kol agreed, delighted, as he dropped the eggs in the potion._

_As if they were one, both of them got their faces closer to the smoking cauldron, not wanting to miss anything._

_For a moment, it seemed like nothing had happened. The potion kept brewing on, gurgling the same dark blue it’d been before, the same color they had been trying to change for the last year. But then, abruptly, the color started to change, going lighter and lighter at an incredible pace. Until, finally, it settled into the translucent color they’d been trying to achieve all this time._

_“Dear Merlin---”_

_“I told you---”_

_Their voices trailed off when the potion started to bubble up as its texture, light and almost indistinguishable from water, quickly turned thick and dense. What was worse, it started to emit a very rancid odor, which was never a good sign and was the only warning they got before the whole potion – cauldron included – exploded._

_They moved in synchrony just as the blast started. She lifted her arm and shouted “Protego!” while Kol flashed towards her in an effort to protect her with his body just in case, putting her safety above his like always. Luckily, the magical shield closed up around them a second before the first blast reached them, keeping them perfectly safe. Sadly, the same could not have been said for the rest of the room. The explosion was so powerful it sent boiling potion mixed with pieces of cauldron everywhere, from the floor to the ceiling and to the walls. And, when the moment passed, the whole room was a mess of big proportions. Not to mention that their ten years’ worth of study and research were now painting the walls of their private laboratory._

_However, none of that mattered. Not really. Because, for a second there, the eggs had achieved their purpose. For a second, they’d got the perfect balance they’d been looking for. For a second, it’d been perfect. And, if it’d happened for a second, then it could be replicated and improved until perfect lasted forever. And the beaming smiles in both of their faces reflected that._

_“Did you see---?”_

_“---It was working, so we need a stabilizer---”_

_“---Perhaps changing the dose of---?”_

_“---And maybe adding a bit---”_

_“---That’s perfect. We’ll need---”_

_“---But we already have all the extra ingredients except---”_

_“----That’s okay, we can ask for it in an owl-service---”_

_They kept tossing ideas back and forth, understanding the other’s line of reasoning in a way that most people outside their family found eerie. It was in the way they knew what exactly the other wanted to say before they finished speaking, and sometimes even before the thought was fully formed in the other’s head. It was uncanny and freakishly accurate, to the point that some wizards and witches had thought, more than once, that they were actually reading each other's mind._

_But magic wasn't involved in any way on this._

_For them, it was a part of who they were, as easy and natural as breathing. They knew each other so well – sometimes better than they themselves and had been that way for so long now – that talking wasn’t even necessary. Most of the time, a long look and a few subtle gestures were enough to understand what was going in the other’s mind._

_That was why Ingrid instantly knew something was up when Kol’s voice abruptly dropped as his brow furrowed. And, judging by the way he cocked his head slightly to the side, she knew he was listening to something that was making him increasingly furious._

_“I don’t care if I upset Finn and Elijah’s sensibilities, I’m going to chop off her legs.” he said, body tensed with barely contained fury “I’m going to enjoy torturing her to the brink of death…. Nik can’t get mad at me if I don’t kill her for real.”_

_Ingrid raised her eyebrows, very surprised at the heat in his words. Since the doppelgänger had moved in with them three days before, forcing them to play the role of a perfectly normal – and no magical in any way – human family, Kol had wasted no time to complain or say some variation of the same threats when the girl wasn’t in close proximity. But this was the first time that her brother actually meant what he was saying._

_Kol was truly furious._

_“What has she done?”_

_“She’s here, sister.” Kol hissed, glaring towards the door, his body all but vibrating with his wrath “That insignificant human wench has dared to come here.”_

_Oh._

_Oh, Merlin._

_“I’ll handle it” Ingrid said firmly, putting a hand on his arm in an effort to anchor him, soothing his explosive temper before it blew off and he could go to kill the essential ingredient for breaking Nik's curse. “You stay here and keep working on the potion. I’ll deal with the girl.”_

_His jaw clenched as he forced himself to ponder the pros and cons of dealing himself with the doppelgänger. Because she knew he knew that if he went out there at that moment – when he was so furious – there was almost zero possibility that the human girl would survive. A moment later, he nodded with a scowl, turning his back on the door and re-focusing his attention on their potion._

_Ingrid wasted no time in exiting their lab and seek for Tatia’s look-alike. As she walked, she could feel her magic building inside of her, ready to snap at any minute, and she was forced to stop and take a few calming breaths, reminding herself why it was a bad idea to let loose her magic on Katerina._

_She’d tried to temper down her ire for Kol’s benefit, knowing she needed to calm him down before his temper exploded but, truthfully, she was just as furious as he was. The family wing was off-limits for all but their house-elves, Rose-Marie – as her personal maid – and Trevor – as the captain of their vampire guard – and even the last two were forbidden to go to some parts of it. After all, this part of their castle was their sanctuary, the place where their bedrooms were, as well as the family study and their respective personals offices. This part of their home was private. And nobody but family should be free to roam these halls._

_Katerina Petrova had no right to be there._

_“What are you doing here?” she demanded when she rounded the corner and found Katerina standing in front of one of her favorite paintings. Her voice sounding sharp and irked even by her own ears. “This is the family wing.”_

_The girl turned towards her, her face breaking into a surprised and demure smile that was the perfect representation of charming innocence. But Ingrid wasn’t fooled for a second. She’d lived long enough to recognize when someone was using a mask. And Katerina most certainly was._

_“Milady” she curtsied, still smiling demurely “Forgive my intrusion. I was exploring the castle alone and I got lost… I didn’t know this was the family wing.”_

_Ingrid didn’t need to enter into the girl’s head to know it was a lie. A good lie, delivered with the perfect expression, but a lie nonetheless. And, under normal circumstances, Katerina would have paid for not only trespassing into their private space but also for daring to lie to her face about it. However, this wasn’t a normal circumstance and Ingrid was curious enough about the girl’s intentions to play along on her games. “Oh? I thought you were supposed to be spending the afternoon with Trevor?” she asked innocently, even as she raised an eyebrow in silent challenge. ‘Go on’ her emerald eyes said ‘Try to keep up with your lie’._

_Nothing but a quick flash of surprise and uneasiness in Katerina’s eyes betrayed her, and Ingrid could admit to being slightly impressed by it. It was rare to find a normal human with such good control over their emotions. Especially because it was only her centuries of experience playing this kind of games that allowed Ingrid to see through the pretty and almost perfect mask of the doppelgänger._

_“Trevor was called off to finish some of his duties, milady” Katerina answered smoothly after a long second “So I ended up touring the castle by myself”_

_“Dear Lord, that’s completely unacceptable.” she said, feigning indignation on the girl’s behalf. “As your host, please let me give you a proper tour… We shall start with the gardens.”_

_“Oh, I couldn’t possibly impose you, milady.” Katerina denied, her voice was courteous and her smile was demure but there was no mistaking the defiance in her eyes to submit at her wishes._

_“Please. I insist.” she said pointedly, her smile and words were friendly but her voice carried the weight of the authority she wielded as the Lady of the house._

_Katerina’s defiance lasted a few seconds longer than she expected but, like most people did when she used that tone, her shoulders finally dropped and her gaze went to the ground. “In that case, I would be honored, milady.” She said sounding meek and yet, her feet remained firmly rooted on their spot. “But… before we go to the gardens, I would like to ask you about this painting…”_

_Ingrid didn’t need to turn around to know what painting she was talking about. She knew their castle, and especially this wing, like it was the back of her hand, to the point that she could probably name everything that was on it with her eyes closed. So she simply titled her head to the side as she examined the girl's expression, trying to find any kind of maliciousness but she couldn’t see anything besides open curiosity. So, she nodded her head in consent, lifting an expectant eyebrow in a silent demand for the girl to finish her question._

_“Who painted it?” Katerina asked in a hushed whisper, her eyes wide and expectant “Don’t get me wrong, milady. It’s so beautiful and awe-inspiring that it took my breath away… but it’s also very improper. Was Lord Niklaus upset with you when they painted you that way?”_

_She couldn’t stop the loud laughter that bubbled up from her throat, deeply amused by the question. Maybe it was because that specific painting wasn’t even the most scandalous piece of art in which she featured in; not when Nik had gone through an artistic nude phase and she’d been his favorite muse. Or maybe it was because she couldn’t phantom the idea of that specific painting being improper in any way; not after seeing how the conception of art had changed through the ages. Or it was simply ridiculous to think that Nik would ever be upset with her if someone else painted her in any sort of scandalous way; because, if anything, her husband would focus his wrath on the artist._

_But there was something even funnier about Katerina’s question._

_“Nik was the painter” she revealed, enjoying Katerina’s astonishment “This piece was a gift for our first anniversary.”_

_It was close enough from the truth. The painting had actually been a gift for their one-hundredth anniversary of marriage and it’d been inspired on a real moment that had happened in their early years after the immortality spell had been cast._

_It’d happened after their family left Scotland and started touring through the Roman Empire. One night, Ingrid and Niklaus had decided to go on a walk through the beach in front of their villa. Back then, the open ocean had been still a wonder and novelty, so she’d chosen to go barefoot wearing a flimsy white nightgown, so she could enjoy the feel of the sea breeze on her skin and the soft sand on her feet. Then, out of nowhere, stars had started to fall, illuminating the night sky in a way that, even centuries later, it was impossible to forget. She remembered how she’d laughed out loud in delight and, without a second thought, she’d run into the ocean, ignoring the cold of the water as she closed her eyes and sent a wish for their eternal happiness to whoever was willing to listen. ‘Make a wish, Nik!’ she’d called with a big smile, half-turning towards him as she extended a hand to him in an open invitation for him to join her in the water. But her husband had stood still on the seashore, hands tucked on his pockets as he smiled at her in adoration. ‘I already got my wish’ he’d said, winking at her._

_On the painting, she was submerged in the ocean from her waist down and the semi-wet upper side of her nightgown let little to the imagination about her figure. She was half-turned towards the painter, hand extended and inviting, as she laughed in a way that made her look almost divine. And, in the background, the night sky was filled with falling stars._

_It was a truly breathtaking picture._

_But that wasn’t the reason why she always put that painting on display in one of the hallways of the family wings of the different homes they’d had over the decades. The real reason why it was the meaning – the promise – it held for Niklaus and her._

_“That’s a wonderful gift, milady” Katerina praised, even if her expression betrayed her surprise “I didn’t know Lord Niklaus was such a talented artist.”_

_Ingrid nodded with a smile, proud. “Nik has always been a gifted artist, even when he was very young.”_

_“Oh, of course…. I almost forgot you’ve known the Mikaelson family since infancy, milady. Lord Elijah has told me all about it.”_

_“Elijah has told you about our childhood days?” Ingrid asked, the curious tone of her voice not betraying how unsettled she felt with the idea of her older brother spending time with the doppelgänger._

_Of course, she knew it made sense given how the rest of them had gone out of their way to avoid spending time with the girl. In the short time since Katerina had moved in with them, Finn had found a ridiculous amount of reasons to spend all his time in the villages around their castle. Rebekah had actually fled to London under the absurd excuse of getting them all a new wardrobe for the night of the full moon. Nik had fully immersed himself in the search of a werewolf for the sacrifice, even when there were dozens of vampires under his command that could have done it. And Kol and Ingrid had all but locked themselves in their laboratory, trying to complete the creation of a potion that, up until a few days before, they'd not been in any rush to finish. So, it made perfect sense that Elijah, always the noblest by nature, had decided to take upon himself the task of spending time with the girl. But she still felt uneasy with the idea of her big brother forcing himself to spend time with the girl who shared the same face, voice, and body of his first love, especially because Katerina’s presence was a living reminder of the tragic end of said love._

_“Yes, Lord Elijah has shared with me about your lives.” Katerina confirmed, looking entirely too pleased with herself “And I’ve to confess to being invidious of you, milady. Lord Elijah has told me how Lord Niklaus and you fell in love with each other when you were young… To be lucky enough to find love so easy… I wish I’d shared the same luck.”_

_Ingrid snorted, shaking her head at the absurd notion of love that the girl had on her head. She wasn’t sure why, but Katerina’s words rattled her more than she cared to admit._

_“No true love is easy. Because if it was, it wouldn’t be worthy.” Ingrid declared fiercely, holding the girl’s gaze with her own as she tried to impart her this truth. “True love, the one that lasts forever, it’s always complicated…. Love is war. Because it is filled with endless battles that will force you to sacrifice things you held dear and make compromise about things you didn’t think mattered. And to win those battles you’ll need to fight with everything in you but also learn when to retreat or surrender… But, even more importantly, Love is a war you can never win on your own. Because if the person you love doesn’t fight for you with the same intensity that you do for them, if the other person isn’t willing to sacrifice and compromise, if they don’t give their all for you… then you’ll never truly win the war.”_

_She paused, taking a deep breath as she forced the memories of everything she and Nik had gone through – especially before the immortality spell – to the back of her mind._

_“Love is also peace” Ingrid admitted softly “Because in between battles there will always be moments of silence that are charged with meaning. Peace is the feeling of home, security, and comfort that is inspired by the mere presence of the person you love… Love is peace because a love story isn’t only composed of moments that are exciting and action-packed; it’s also composed of moments that are ordinary and common… And those moments are just as wonderful as any other because what truly matters is that you’re spending time with the person you love by your side.”_

_Ingrid turned her head towards the painting, analyzing every detail of it as she remembered the promise her husband had made her the day he’d gifted her that painting. The promise that made this painting so special for her. ‘Beatitudo aeterna sunt vos’ – You are eternal happiness – A promise Niklaus had made to her and she had returned. A promise that symbolized the love they shared and what it meant for them._

_“Love is happiness.” She said at last “It’s a feeling of warmth, contentment, and elation that’s impossible to explain but it’s all-consuming and everlasting…. However, love is only happiness as long as the person you love is happy. Because, as long as they are happy, it won’t matter if they’re romantically involved with someone else or if they’re far away from you. As long as they exist in this world with you, safe and happy, you’ll find the way to be happy too.” Ingrid smiled, turning towards the human girl “Love is a complicated mess, Katerina… But that’s the beauty of it.”_

_The doppelgänger was pale, staring at her wide-eyed and visibly stunned. And even if Ingrid found her confounded expression funny, she wasn’t about to stop long enough to let her recover, passing up this perfect opportunity to finally accomplish what she wanted._

_“Now, I think we’ve been loitering around here long enough.” Ingrid said firmly, linking her arm through the girl’s “Let me show you the gardens. They’re truly splendid this time of the year…” And, without giving her any time to react, she all but forced Katerina to start walking out of the family wing._

* * *

**& &&//04//&&&**

* * *

Aria took a look at Ron’s face and sighed, already knowing what he was going to say. “You didn’t find anything either.”

Through the mirror, it was all too easy to see the tension lines on his face as well as the disappointed glint on his eyes. “I couldn’t find anything either.” Ron concurred, sounding a little self-deprecating “I went through every bloody legal and illegal channel in this side of the pond and I couldn’t find anything.”

“It’s not your fault” she reassured him.

“Maybe” He conceded with a sigh after a long moment “But this was our last option and I failed… And that means we still don’t know anything about her.”

“Then we’ll another way” she declared, firmly “Like we always do.”

“Exactly” Neville agreed immediately, his face set on an all too familiar determinate expression “We’d beaten worse odds… We’ll find something.”

“Of course, we’ll do... But, to be honest, I still find it a little insulting that the ministry’s archive doesn’t have any information on Katherine Pierce.” Hermione chimed in, almost pouting. Her reflection in the mirror shaking a little as she moved her hands in clear aggravation. “Its first records on known-vampires are dated centuries before Statute and she isn’t mentioned anywhere!”

Neville, Ron, and Aria couldn’t help but exchanged amused smirks at that. Because of course, out of everything, Hermione would take personal the lack of information on the Ministry’s archive. After all, Hermione had searched those records from top to bottom, at least twice, after Aria had asked her best friends for their help in finding any relevant information on Katherine Pierce.

Almost two weeks before, following her conversation with Caroline about the blonde’s encounter with Katherine, Aria had conceded defeat and mirror-called her best friends to tell them everything that had happened to her in the last weeks, and also to asked them for their help. Before that, she’d carefully avoided mentioning too much of what was going on the loony muggle town before then because she didn’t want them to worry, especially when she was perfectly capable of handling on her own the threat of vampires, wiccans and werewolves. And her connection with Caroline – even if it was unique and unexpected – was a family matter that needed to be addressed as such… But, dealing with the unknown agenda of an old vampire who seemed to know her – at least at some level – had proof of her immortality and could expose her secret to the magical world at whim was another matter altogether.

To deal appropriately with Katherine Pierce, Aria needed more information about her. She needed to know all her weaknesses and strengths, as well as what made her thick. More importantly, she needed to know why she was so interested in her before she confronted her. 

And her best friends – as some of the most important figures in the magical community of Britain – were in the perfect position to dig up everything there was to know about the vampire.

Neville – besides having a seat on the Wizengamot – was Britain’s Delegate on the International Confederation of Wizards and, therefore, had easy access to the International Archive of Magical Creatures, which recorded every single magical creature that had been a part of the magical world, before and after the Statute. And Hermione, as the Senior Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, had open access to all the ministry’s records about magical creatures since the time of the Wizard’s Council of Britain, which included every bit of information – like commercial deals and legal offenses – that the ministry had managed to get on from every known magical creature. On the other hand, Ron, as Head Auror, knew every known legal – and illegal – wizarding network on Europe, so he’d tried to track any helpful information on the vampire that was available for sale. And Aria, not wanting to be idle, had combed through all the Peverell, Potter, and Black family diaries, looking for any mention of Katherine. 

But, after almost two weeks of research, none of them had been able to find anything useful. And it was more than a little aggravating.

It just wasn’t possible. If Katherine knew about the magical world, then she needed to have made contact with it at some point in time, which needed to be recorded somewhere. But there wasn’t anything anywhere.

It was almost like she didn’t exist.

“I think we need to tackle this from a different perspective.” Neville said after a moment, thoughtfully “If we assume our research is right and a vampire named Katherine Pierce has never interacted in any way with the wizarding world when we know she had then the logical conclusion is…”

Aria’s eyes widened in comprehension at the same as Hermione’s. “…That’s not her real name!”

“Makes sense.” Ron agreed, frowning in thought “She must be feature somewhere in our records but we can’t find her because we don’t have the name she used when she was in contact with the magical community. It’s clever.…. But that means we need to find her real name and, sadly, I only see one viable option that can guarantee a truthful answer. ”

It didn’t take a genius to understand of what option he was talking about. And it wasn’t something she wanted to do but, by this point, it was obvious she needed to do it. “I need to confront Katherine”

“Which defeats the purpose of all the research we’ve done!” Hermione protested immediately “You can’t go looking for her without knowing for sure how powerful she really is.”

“No matter how powerful she is, I can take her.” Aria argued, fiercely. “Just like I did with the Salvatore brothers.”

“But it’s not the same, Aria! They’re young, cocky and ignorant of our world... Not to mention that they made the grave mistake of confronting you in your house, where the wards would never allow them to touch you.” Her best friend argued back, glaring at her. “For what you’ve told us, Katherine Pierce is an older vampire with an unknown prior experience with our world and magic… She won’t give you any kind of advantage! And, depending on how old she truly is, she could have developed a certain level of immunity over our magic!”

“I know that!” she protested, a little offended that Hermione was assuming she hadn’t thought-out this through. “But I’m not the Master of Death for anything… Regardless of how old and experienced she is, I know I can face her on and walk away alive.”

Hermione opened her mouth, no doubt to keep arguing with her about it, but Neville cut her off before she could say anything else. “And what if we’ve been wrong about that too?” he said, sounding contemplative “We’ve been operating under the assumption that she has some nefarious plan for the Girl-Who-Conquered, but why if she doesn’t know you’re Aria Potter.”

She frowned, confused. “But that’s ridiculous! She knows I’m---”

“No” Neville cut her off, shaking his head “For what you’ve told us, Katherine knows your face and about your magic, so we’re sure she knows you… but maybe it’s not this version of you she knows.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw how Ron’s jaw dropped and Hermione’s eyes widened as they understood what Neville was saying, but Aria refused to break her eye contact with Neville. His blue eyes were a little apologetic but mostly determinate as they stared back at her through the mirror, forcing her to confront something she’d mostly refused to talk about in the last eight years.

All the topics related to her past-lives were something of an unspoken taboo between them, as her best friends knew how much she preferred to go on living her life without acknowledging the fact that her soul had reborn at least once before. Mostly because she didn’t see the point of it, not when she didn’t remember her dreams. So, a long time ago, she’d decided to not dwell on the knowledge that, once upon a time, she’d lived through different times, surrounded by loved ones that were now long gone from this world. Because the absolute truth was that this life – and the people on it – was all she really needed. After all, Aria knew herself. She knew how deeply and unconditionally she loved. And she was sure that if she remembered the loved ones she had on her past lives then she would become attached, and missed them… and grief for them, even if they’d died long before she was even born in this life. And she didn’t need that. She mourned enough people already, adding more names to that list would do nothing but made her miserable.

And the idea of someone alive knowing her because they knew one of her past-lives unsettled her more than she cared to admit out loud.

“Well, it would fit with what we know.” Ron intervened carefully, breaking Neville’s and Aria’s eye contest. “Maybe she took your picture because she wanted to make sure.”

“Or maybe she wanted to show it to someone else.” Hermione added, forehead creasing in thought “Maybe there are other vampires out there who had interacted with your past-lives.”

“That’s crazy.” Aria denied quickly, feeling how something heavy and uncomfortable settled on her stomach at the idea. “What are the odds of that happening?”

“With your Potter-Luck?” Neville dared, lifting an eyebrow in a silent challenge “It’s almost a certainty.” He must have seen her conflicted emotions about the possibility because his face softened when he added. “But you won’t know for sure if you don’t confront her about it.”

There was a long silence after that.

“Are you going to do it?” Hermione asked hesitatingly, biting her lip. Her previous argument all but forgotten in light of this new theory.

Aria sighed, feeling vulnerable. “I don’t know” she admitted, staring helplessly at her best friends, the three people on the world who knew her better than anyone. “I really don’t.”

* * *

**& &&//04//&&&**

* * *

“What’s going on in your life?”

Her mom’s voice caught her by surprise, stopping Caroline as she made her silent escape out of their house. Mentally cursing for not paying more attention to her super hearing, she turned around to see her mom standing under the threshold of the hallway with her arms crossed. After the long, long shift her mom had taken on the station, it was a miracle she was awake so early in the morning after only a couple of hours of sleep. Especially because she didn’t need her new super sight to see the heavy bags under her mom’s bloodshot eyes or the general tiredness that seemed to ooze from her.

“What do you mean?” she asked confused, and then, not being able to contain herself, she added “Are you sure you should be up? You look like you’re about to pass out from sheer exhaustion.”

“I’m fine, Caroline.” Her mom assured her “It’s you I’m worried about.”

Her stomach fluttered with the bad kind of nerves as her heart started to beat rapidly – and loudly – on her chest. It was an instinctive reaction, born by the knowledge that Liz Forbes – sheriff of the town and her mom – was part of a secret council that was focused on eliminating all vampires – like her – of Mystic Falls. But, after taking a better look at her mom’s face, she forced herself to calm down. Her mom couldn’t possibly know about her. Because if Liz knew her daughter was the thing she hated the most in the world, then the last thing on her mind would be to ask about her well-being.

With that certainty on her mind, Caroline adopted a totally unaffected look as she crossed her arms and sent her mom an incredulous look. “Why are you talking about? I’m perfectly fine.”

“Are you sure?” her mom pressed, taking a step in her direction.

“This is ridiculous! Of course, I’m sure, mom.” she exclaimed, rolling her eyes “Why are you even asking me about this?”

“You’ve been acting differently for the last few weeks… I know you don’t think I pay attention to you but I do, and you… You’ve been acting differently lately. You barely sleep here anymore. And, honestly, I feel like I barely see you. And I just…. I’m worried about you, sweetheart.”

There was a moment frozen in time – as she stared into her mom’s earnest and caring expression – in which Caroline considered to tell her the truth.

For a moment, Caroline thought about taking this one chance and just let it all out. She considered the idea of looking straight into her mother’s eyes and tell her she was a vampire. Tell her that everything in her life had changed in the last few weeks and the world she thought she knew had turned upside-down. Tell her that Aria had saved her in ways that it was impossible to explain. Tell her that all her old friendships had collapsed around her after she’d been turned. Tell her that she was spending most of her free time in Aria’s house, where she felt safe, secure, and accepted. And, most importantly, she thought about telling her mom that, despite everything that had changed in her life, for the first time in forever, she was starting to like herself again, to value herself as a person.

For a moment, Caroline looked at her mom – at the person she’d been the closest when she was a kid – and considered the idea of letting all pretenses go and tell the truth.

But then the moment passed and she remembered her mother hated vampires since she was young. Hated creatures like her because she’d been raised in the belief that they were soulless monsters. And if she told her the truth then her mom would look at her with nothing but hate and disgust in her eyes.

Caroline could survive a lot of things, but she didn’t think she could survive the idea of living in a world where her mom hated her very existence.

So she forced a condescending smile on her face, the kind that went perfectly well with the selfish and self-absorbed image her mom had of her. “Of course you never see me, you’re barely here…. I mean, most days, it’s like I don’t have a mother.”

Liz flinched as if she’d struck her. “Caroline…” she said, pleadingly.

“Props for your attempt to be a mother though. I almost felt like we were having an actual mother-daughter chat. We should definitely try it again sometime… Although, judging by your crazy-ass schedule and your general inability to act like a mother, that’s probably going to take a long, long while… Anyway, some of us have to go to school so… bye-bye.” And, without giving her any time to respond, Caroline quickly walked out of her house, fully intended on not thinking about their conversation ever again.

But, as she crossed their front yard, she heard something that froze her completely. Something that she wouldn’t have been able to hear if not for her super hearing. Something that almost made her cry. 

“I love you, sweetheart.”

Caroline closed her eyes, feeling like someone had kicked her on the stomach. Even at their worst, she’d always known, in a sort of abstract way, that her mom loved her. But it’d been so long since she’d actually hear those words that it felt like she’d been knocked in the head and heart with a bunch of different emotions too complicated to analyze without breaking down crying. Because she’d just said awful things to her mom and yet, Liz had still said aloud that she loved her, despite not knowing that Caroline could hear her. 

And, at that moment, it was impossible not to think back and thought about all her memories of her mom. She thought about her childhood and how she’d hero-worshiped her mom. Thought about her parents’ endless fights and how she’d chosen to blame her mom when she’d taken refuge in her work. Thought about how she and her mom had become two strangers living under the same roof as the years went by and the distance between them grew. Thought about her mom and how, despite everything, she was the person she loved most above everyone else in the world.

But then, Caroline thought about how much her mom would hate her if she knew the truth and knew she was making the right decision. No matter what, she couldn’t tell her mom the truth.

It was better for everyone involved that way.

So she took a big breath, got her emotions under control and opened her eyes, getting inside her car, and driving in the direction of the school. She’d a long day ahead of her, she couldn’t afford to be emotionally compromised. Not when, nowadays, going to school was like walking inside her very own and personal minefield.

She was proved right almost straight away.

Because the first thing she saw after she crossed the doors of the school was Matt, who was hanging by his locker with Tyler and a couple of girls from their year, laughing and teasing as they remember the great time they’d had the night before. Matt’s smile was real and easy, maybe even a little flirty, the kind of smile someone like him should have. The smile of a normal human teenage boy who was enjoying his high school days and wasn’t feeling trapped in any kind of supernatural drama. It was the kind of smile Matt deserved to have.

But, if she was truly honest, there was a tiny little part of her that was hurt by how fast he seemed to have moved on from her. Matt didn’t look like someone who was bothered by his fairly recent break-up. Then again, she’d compelled him to move on with his life when she’d broken up with him, so maybe his new attitude was just a consequence of that and not a reflection on how little he’d really cared for her.

Huffing about the fact that her insecurities were rearing their ugly heads again, she turned around and took the long way towards her locker, not willing to stand there and stare at them like a total creep. 

Breaking-up with Matt had been the right choice.

Even now, feeling slightly hurt by how quickly he’d gotten over her, Caroline was sure of that. Matt was one of the good guys, he was one of those people who remained good at heart even after all the shitty and unfair things they were forced to deal in their lives. After all, that was one of the reasons why - long before Elena had decided she liked him - she’d had an embarrassingly huge crush on him. Back then, she’d daydreamed on marrying him, having two cute kids, and live a perfect life. But that dream had not been meant to be. At first, it’d been because he’d fallen hard for Elena, and pined over the boyfriend of one of her oldest friends was simply something she’d refused to do. Then, after they’d gotten together, it’d been because her many, many insecurities had stopped her from truly believing he wasn’t in love with Elena anymore. But now it was simply because everything had changed when she’d been turned into a vampire. Caroline was an immortal who would never live a normal life and, to be honest, that was exactly what Matt deserved, a good life far, far away from all the danger and drama that came with the supernatural – magical – world. Besides, a relationship between a vampire and a human was doomed from the start. So really, she’d make the right choice.

But, even knowing all that, it was still difficult to see him in the hallways of their school and be forced to acknowledge that the boy she’d like since they were fourteen would never end up with her.

And it didn’t help her mood that – excluding the few hours every other day when Aria taught her self-defense class – she’d no one in the school to talk to. Not when her relationship with Bonnie and Elena was in shitty place too. 

Like summoned by her thoughts, her supposed best friends walked into their classroom. Bonnie politely pretended she didn’t see her sitting alone in the back, like she’d been doing for almost a month now, and took her seat without looking in her direction. Elena, on the other hand, sent her a familiar reproachful look – one that Caroline perfectly ignored – and sat down far away from her.

Caroline sighed, hurt not surprised by their attitude. After all, Bonnie had been ignoring her since she’d been turned, refusing to talk to her and generally treating her like it was her fault that she was now a blood-sucking creature of the night. And, after Salvatore’s brothers had babbled to Elena about Aria’s magic and her little prank on Damon – and even thinking about it caused her to snort in silent laughter because those pictures that Kreacher had taken were extremely hilarious and completely unflattering towards Damon – Elena had decided that Aria was dangerous and everyone should avoid any kind of interactions with her. And when Caroline had refused to comply with her wishes, the brunette had started to give her the silent treatment as well.

Not willingly to keep moping over things she couldn’t change, Caroline averted her eyes from the two girls she’d been friends with since birth and decided to simply focus on her class. She wanted to get accepted in good colleges on her merits alone and that meant not letting her grades drop. So she paid extra attention to all her professors and, without realizing, the hours went by until the school day was over.

“Caroline! Wait!” 

For a second, she contemplated the option of keep walking like she didn’t hear anything but, well, with her super hearing it would be too obvious and she wasn’t that childish. Sighing, she turned around. “What do you want, Elena?”

The brunette was standing a few feet from her, face set on a determinate and stubborn expression that Caroline knew too well from their most memorable fights. She could almost feel the headache coming. “I know we’re at odds right now but I’m one of your best friends, Caroline. And I’m duty-bound to warn you about Aria Black.”

She groaned, loudly. “Not this again” she murmured, exasperated, starting to turn away.

“This is serious, Caroline!” Elena insisted, planting herself in front of her. “She’s a threat! She could be working with Katherine!”

“That’s ridiculous!” she snorted, torn between feeling amusement and offense in Aria’s name “She’s not working with Katherine… Why in the world do you think that?”

“Because it makes sense!” Elena argued, brown eyes flashing with conviction “Think about it! She revealed her powers to help you after Katherine turned you, when you were vulnerable and alone. And then she turned against us! Not to mention that she attacked Stefan and Damon when they asked for her help! She’s clearly working with Katherine and is using you for something.”

It was only because Elena had tried some variations of the same argument at least ten different times before – only the bit about Katherine was new – that Caroline didn’t explode in an angry tirade in defense of Aria and their friendship. Even still, she felt her temper flare at the insinuation behind the brunette’s words. “I know this is difficult for you to understand – because God’s forbid someone doesn’t bend over themselves for you – but just because Aria doesn’t want to help you doesn’t mean she’s a threat or that she’s working with Katherine.” Caroline said, trying to keep her annoyance to the minimum “And I’m tired of hearing the same things over and over again. You don’t have any proof. So… please, stop talking about my friend like that.”

“But you don’t understand, Caroline. Aria has to be working with Ka---!”

“Oh my God, Elena!” she groaned, fed up with the discussion. “Why do you keep insisting on this?”

“Because it makes sense given the circumstances! What happened with Jenna and Mason proves how much control Katherine has over everyone around me!”

She frowned, too confused by the reference to focus on how self-centered Elena was being. “What happened with Jenna and Mason?”

It was clearly the opening that Elena had been waiting for because she didn’t waste any second on telling her all about how Bonnie had discovered that Mason was working with Katherine and how, after they’d questioned him, they’d been able to obtain the moonstone from the Sun and Moon Curse. Elena also told her about how, after finding out that Mason had been killed by Damon, Jenna had stabbed herself – thank the Heavens she was fine – on Katherine’s orders. “So you see?” Elena finished, smiling like she’d won their argument “Katherine is clearly planning to do something with the moonstone, so she’ll need a witch and who better than Aria---”

“Damon killed Mason?” Caroline interrupted her, horrified.

Elena paused, confused. “Yeah. I’ve just told you…”

“And you’re okay with that?” she insisted, incredulous.

“He was a werewolf who was working for Katherine!” Elena said, defensively “He was the enemy!”

“He was Tyler’s uncle! His family!” Caroline shot back, more furious than she could explain. There was something hot burning on her chest at the idea of Damon killing Tyler’s only remaining family besides his mom. “My God, Elena! How are you okay with this? He was your aunt’s best friend! Not to mention that we’ve known Mason our whole lives. He used to babysit us for fuck sake!”

Something like discomfort – or regret – crossed Elena’s face for a moment but it was gone so fast she could have imagined it, replaced by stubborn defiance. “He was a threat that needed to be deal with.”

Caroline shook her head, feeling livid and mournful at the same time. “And that’s it? He was working with Katherine and therefore he needed to die? Just like that? Who gave you the right to be judge, jury, and executioner?”

“I didn’t kill him!” Elena protested immediately, indignant.

“No” she agreed, sadly “You just looked to the other side while Damon did it. Just like you always do.” Because Elena knew everything that the Salvatore brothers had done to the people of their town – To Mason. To Vicky. To Caroline – and yet, she still chose to stand beside them.

“That’s not fair”

“No, you know what’s not fair?” Caroline demanded “That you’re here, trying to convince me that my friend is dangerous and working for Katherine just because you think she’s a threat…. And you know what, Elena? You don’t get to judge her. Not after everything that had happened this past year with the Salvatore brothers. Because you don’t have any moral ground to do so.”

Elena opened her mouth, eyes flashing with anger and looking ready to go on a rant of her own, but Caroline didn’t bother to wait for her response. Shaking her head, she turned around and left her standing outside of their school.

In her opinion, there wasn’t anything else to say.

* * *

**& &&//04//&&&**

* * *

“Careful with your footwork.” Aria instructed, as she easily avoided an incoming kick from Caroline “In a regular fight, you’ll probably be using your super-speed and, if you’re not careful, you could end up tripping over your own foot.”

“Yeah, I know” Caroline huffed, aiming a punch in her direction “That happened when… when Mason was chasing us through the forest…. I felt flat on the ground.”

“Well, in your defense, you were only a couple of days old.” She told her gently, knowing how touchy it was the subject of Mason, even three days later after Caroline had found out about it. However, her compassion didn’t stop her from using the next opportunity to flip the blond and throw her on the ground. “Ready to give up?”

From her position on the ground, Caroline blinked slowly at her, like she was confused on how she’d ended up there. “Yeah. I give up.” The blonde sighed “I lost. Again.”

“Don’t worry, you’re getting better.” She assured her, taking a sit by her side on the floor of the training room of her house.

After Aria had offered to teach Caroline self-defense, they’d started to train almost daily. They’d were still firmly in the basics but she’d got to admit that, for someone with no prior experience on any kind of physical activity besides cheerleading, the blonde was doing remarkable well, especially after taking into consideration that she was forbidden from using her super strength and speed. In no time at all, Caroline would be fighting like a pro and Aria would need to step up the training, teaching her how to protect herself when she was fighting against magic-users and also how to build a certain level of immunity to magic. 

Funnily enough, it was Caroline herself who was most insecure about the progress she was making, something that was proved by the impressive deadpanned expression on her face. “Since when? Last time a checked, you’ve won every single one of our matches.”

Aria shrugged. “That’s to be expected. You’ve been doing this for only a couple of weeks and I’ve years of experience. But for someone so new at this, you’re doing great.” She said, honestly “So quit doing that long face. In no time at all, you’ll be fighting like a pro…. Just remember: Never give up---”

“---not even if you think you’ve no chance at winning.” Caroline completed obediently.

“Good girl” she grinned.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“How do I stop being afraid?” Caroline asked, hesitantly “I mean… If I’m facing someone who wants to hurt me and I know I can’t beat them… what do I do to not be afraid?”

“Nothing you do is going to stop the fear.” Aria said, holding Caroline’s eyes with her own “It’s part of our nature to be afraid of the unknown, especially when we’re facing danger. But that doesn’t mean that you’ve to let the fear define you…. If you ever are in a situation like that, you tell yourself you’re strong enough. You should look into your enemy’s eyes and tell them – and yourself – that you’re going to fight till the end…. And maybe luck will be on your side and you’ll survive, or maybe you won’t…. But, whatever happens, you’ll know that you were you till the end. And nobody could take that away from you….. Okay?”

“Okay” Caroline nodded, blue eyes shining with determination.

Kreacher choose that moment to pop in, holding a tray with tea – for her – blood – for Caroline – and a large variety of traditional wizarding desserts, as the elf’s not-so-discreet way of indoctrinating Caroline on the magical world. “Mistress and Mistress’s bloodsucking friend need to eat something” Kreacher announced, snapping his fingers and making appear a low table in front of them, a second later everything on the elf’s tray was arraigning itself in the table. “Kreacher won’t come back until everything is eaten.” The elf said, sending a pointed look in her direction.

Aria grinned. “I promise I’ll be good and eat a little bit of everything…. Thank you, Kreacher”

At her side, Caroline echoed her words of gratitude towards the elf and even if Kreacher pretended to not hear the blonde and popped out of the room without looking at her direction, Aria was pretty sure the elf was growing fond of the blond vampire. Slowly. And defining fond by Kreacher’s standards. 

For the next minutes, the two of them calmly ate everything Kreacher had cook for them while discussing their plans for Easter vacations – Aria wanted to take all of them to the most popular magical district in New York and Caroline was very excited about it – and the slow progress Teddy was making in his reluctant pursuit of friendships at Hogwarts.

Caroline was fully immersed in the conversation, so very obviously interested in everything related to Teddy.

Since she’d found out her true relationship with Teddy, the blonde had been asking about him in every opportunity she’d got, trying to know everything there was to know about him before they met in person when her son came to Mystic Falls. Because, for some reason, Caroline refused to have her first conversation with Teddy through the mirror. And her little wolf was too excited about meeting his new little vampire sister to argue with the idea.

Their comfortable and easy conversation was interrupted when Caroline received a text message that made her glare to her cellphone like she was hoping to set it on fire with her eyes alone. “I can’t believe them…. They’re so… Argh.”

“I suppose you’re talking about your annoying little friends”

The blonde huffed, nodding. “The text is from Stefan” she clarified, still scowling at her phone “He says they plan to kill Katherine at the Masquerade Ball and he wants me to help them.”

Aria raised her eyebrows, a little surprised by the sudden turn of events. From what she knew, Katherine had been terrorizing the people of the town for more than a month and the Salvatore brothers had failed to do anything about it, excluding demanding her help to kill the vampire in their name. “Well… at least they’re finally doing something about Katherine.”

If the Salvatore brothers managed to kill Katherine then all her chances of discovering what the older vampire knew about her would be gone. And Aria wasn’t certain if that would be a truly bad thing or not.

“Yeah, they’re going to kill her…. Because that’s what we do now, we kill everyone who we think is a threat.” Caroline murmured, her voice carrying a surprising amount of bitterness.

“Do you really care about Katherine?”

“God’s no. I fucking hate the bitch.” She said, still scowling “But I don’t want to kill her. I don’t want to kill anyone… And maybe it makes me a hypocrite because the first thing I did after turning was killing someone but…. But I want to believe I’m not a monster. That I still can differentiate when something is right or wrong…. And killing her for revenge doesn’t seem like the right thing.”

Aria considered her words very carefully before speaking. “I don’t think that way of thinking makes you a hypocrite. It just means you’ve got a pure heart… You’re innocent, Caroline.”

And a little naïve too. Because the real world was painted on different shades of grey that were tainted with blood. And, sooner or later, Caroline would learn that sometimes you’ve to do unthinkable things to protect the people you cared about, in the same way Aria had learned it after the war began. But that lesson wasn’t hers to teach and for now, she would do everything in her power to preserve what was left of the blonde’s innocence.

Caroline smiled, it was a little bobbly and weak but real none the less. “I just wish there was a way to stop Katherine from keeping hurting people without actually killing her.”

She hummed, considering what to do in her head. There were a million and one options on how to deal with Katherine but she’d to take into consideration the tiny little fact that she wanted to talk with the vampire and figure it out what she knew about her. Because, for all that she still wasn’t sure what she felt about the possibility of someone alive knowing a past life of hers, she was certain that if she didn’t confront her then she would always wonder about the truth. And that was unacceptable.

Just like that, an idea formed in her mind.

“Well, maybe there’s a way for both of us to get what we want.”

The blonde lifted an eyebrow in a silent question.

“I want to talk with Katherine” she admitted, shrugging “You know, about the whole----”

“---knowing about you” Caroline completed, nodding in interest “Yeah that makes sense…. So, what’s your idea?”

Aria grinned and proceeded to tell her exactly what she’d in mind. By the end, Caroline was grinning alongside with her.

* * *

**& &&//04//&&&**

* * *

Bonnie hurried to enter the Boarding House, feeling the pressing weight of everything that was about to come. It was the burden of being a witch, she knew, to work on Mother Nature’s name and keep the balance of the world. Not to mention that, as the only witch alive in Mystic Falls, she’d a duty to her town, to protect it from vampires like Katherine Pierce. But sometimes, in the dead of the night, when she was at her weakest, she wished that things were different and she hadn’t been born a witch. Because in that hypothetical world, she would be free of the chains that tied her to the supernatural and she would be able to go on adventures and travel the world as she’d always dreamed on. But then she thought about losing her magic and she regretted even thinking about it. Being a witch was a part of her and she loved it.

And there was no universe in which she would freely give up her powers.

Bonnie was so focused on carrying her grimoire into the safety of the old house that she barely paid attention to Stefan’s greeting. However, she stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed who else had gathered in the living room of the house. She’d sort-of-expected to see Jeremy and Alaric, and Damon's presence – no matter how unwanted – was a given, so she wasn’t surprised to see them around a table filled with weapons to kill vampires. But she hadn’t been expecting to see Caroline standing alone by the windows, looking almost bored.

“What’s she doing here?”

Stefan sighed. “She’s here to help us kill Katherine.”

“You didn’t say she would be here.”

“She can hear you loud and clear.” Caroline interjected, turning towards them with a sardonic smile on her face “So why don’t you complain about my presence to my face, Bonnie?”

She pursed her lips, refusing to take the bait. Instead, she walked towards the table and put her grimoire there. “In what do you need my help?” she asked, deliberately not looking into Caroline’s direction.

“To kill the bitch, of course” Damon said, smirking “We need you to do your voodoo and abracadabra and make it possible for us to finish her off.”

Exasperated, Bonnie turned to Stefan, hoping he could tell her plainly what they needed. “We’re thinking on trapping Katherine in a room.” the younger Salvatore helpfully explained “Using a spell like the one in the tomb.”

“That’s a very difficult spell.” She frowned.

Damon groaned loudly. “This is why it sucks to depend on a newbie witch. Can’t even do a basic spell.”

“Yeah, well, I’m the only witch you got, so be a little grateful for my help, Damon.”

“No, you’re not actually.” He smiled mockingly at her before turning to glare in Caroline’s direction “But because Blondie refuses to be useful for once and talk sense into Morgana Le Fay, we’re stuck with you, Sabrina.”

Caroline glared right back at Damon. “I know this is difficult for you to understand, but just because you want her help doesn’t mean she’s obligated to do it… Especially after the way you tried to attack in her own home.”

“Me?” Damon demanded, quickly advancing in the blonde’s direction like a hunter ready to attack it pray “What about what that bitch did?”

Surprisingly, Caroline didn’t back down, if anything, she seemed to lift her chin in defiance “Please” she scoffed “After everything you’ve done, you deserved that.”

“Stop.” Stefan ordered, putting himself in between the two of them “We’re not here to fight…. We’re supposed to be working together.”

“Yeah, about that, why don’t you guys explain first what was that all about?” Alaric asked, frowning.

“There’s another witch in town?” Bonnie demanded, feeling her heart pounding in her chest as she contemplated the idea of not being alone anymore.

“Elena didn’t tell you?” Stefan asked in return, sounding confused “Aria Black is a witch. A very powerful one.”

“She’s what?!”

“Miss Black?! Really?!”

Bonnie ignored Alaric and Jeremy’s reactions, more focused on the idea that Aria Black – someone she already respected – was a witch. A powerful one, according to Stefan. Aria was only a couple years older than her but if she was so powerful then she probably had been trained her whole life. And that was so incredible. Because it meant that there was someone like her who could teach her more about magic and their history. Someone who would understand their connection to magic and carry the burden of it with her. 

But her thoughts screeched to a halt when she noticed Caroline’s expression. She was heavily frowning at Stefan but didn’t look surprised in the least by the news. “You knew?” she demanded, feeling almost betrayed that nobody had bothered to tell her something so vitally important for her. “Is that how you’re able to walk on the sun? Because she made you a daylight bracelet? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Seriously? Are you talking to me now?” Caroline asked, crossing her arms. And for all that she looked annoyed, Bonnie knew her well enough to see the hurt in her blue eyes. “You’ve been ignoring me for weeks. Treating me like a pariah because I was turned into a vampire without my consent. And the first time you talk to me is to demand why I didn’t tell you something?”

For a moment, as she stared into Caroline’s eyes, it was like nothing had happened. There was only Caroline, her neurotic, insecure, loyal and cheerful best friend who drove her crazy but without whom she couldn’t live. Caroline, who had stood by her side through all the loss, grief, and pain she’d experienced in her life. Caroline, who understood what was to live in the shadow of Elena’s perfection. Caroline, whom she’d loved since she could remember.

Caroline, who was a vampire now.

Vampires were the reason her grams was dead and the cause of everything that had gone to hell in their town. Vampires were blood-sucking monsters and abominations of nature. And Caroline had proved to be no different when she’d killed that cute boy on the carnival.

Caroline was one of her best friends. But she was also the very creature she hated the most. And Bonnie didn’t how to deal with that contradiction, how to deal with the war that was raging between her heart and her mind.

So she chose to stay silent. Like she’d been doing for the last few weeks. 

And, after a moment, Caroline shook her head, sending her a look that was a combination of hurt and resignation. “Unbelievable.” She said, turning away. “But you know what? I don’t have time for this… We’re here to plan what to do with Katherine. That’s the only reason I’m here in the first place.”

Stefan cleared his throat, looking faintly uncomfortable with their whole exchange. “As I was saying before, we need to trap Katherine so we can kill her and---”

“Why do we’ve to take the easy way and kill her?” Caroline demanded, interrupting him. “The bitch sentenced me to an eternity as a bloodsucker monster, I think a quick death is too merciful for her.”

“Oh? Have any other ideas, Blondie?” Damon said, suddenly looking interested in the conversation.

“What if we trap her in the tomb? I say we should let her rot there for the rest of her immortal life…. Serves that bitch right.”

The stunned silence that followed Caroline’s proposition was broken by Damon’s cackle. “Who knew you had it in you, Blondie?” he asked, smirking appreciatively “I love that idea.”

The others were quick to jump into the idea and Bonnie couldn’t help but accept it easily enough, as the new plan involved that she would need to perform less draining magic. But, for all that the new plan was better and had more chances of success, she couldn’t help but feel like there was something she was missing.

Because, for a second there, when they all agreed to execute the new plan, Bonnie had seen the hidden gleam of triumph in Caroline’s eyes.

* * *

**& &&//04//&&&**

* * *

‘ _Part one of the plan was a success! The bitch is trapped in the tomb and unable to escape. You’re up! Btw, I’m going to stay and enjoy the rest of the party. I deserve a couple of drinks!’_

Aria grinned as she read Caroline’s message, she could all but feel the blonde’s smugness through her texts. Then again, out of the two of them, she was pretty sure it was Caroline who had drawn the shortest straw with this. Because carrying out a very detailed plan – that involved knocking out a vampire with a sleeping potion – while also dealing with an unfriendly team that included your annoying ex and your strangled best friend required the kind of patience for which saints were known of.

But now that Katherine was trapped, it was time for the next part of the plan. 

With that mind, Aria closed her eyes and focused on the entrance of the old tomb that was hidden deep in the forest. A moment later, she disappeared from the safety of her home and appeared in that same place, feeling the magic that surrounded the area like it was ecstatic in the air. She’d to hand it to the wiccan who warded this place, their magic might be more rudimentary and restrictive than the one her kind used, but the amount of magic they’d poured into this place was really impressive.

Knowing there was no reason to loiter outside the tomb, she descended the steps and found herself face to face with a big rock, selling the way for anyone who wanted to get in. She took out the Elder Wand and lifted it in the direction of the rock. “ _Locomotor_ ” she chanted and then watched in satisfaction as the rock levitate from the ground and moved towards the other side of the cave.

“Well, now, this is unexpected” announced a voice that sounded exactly like Elena’s.

She turned around and was confronted by Elena’s look-alike, wearing a tight and short black dress stained with blood and mud. She was standing on the edge of the ward that kept her trapped inside the tomb, staring at her in blatant interest. “Katherine, I presume.”

“The very same.” the vampire grinned, tilting her head to the side as she stared at her. “What are you doing here, Aria Black?”

She grinned at her words. There it was, the confirmation she’d been waiting for. Katherine had called her for her fake name, not her real one. She knew her – she was looking at her with way too much knowledge for that to not be true – but she didn’t know Aria Potter. So the question was, what version of her did she know?

“Looking for you, actually” she commented, walking until she was in the limit of the ward “Heard there was a vampire who seemed to know about me and my kind of my magic, so I needed to investigate a little more.”

Katherine nodded with the perfect expression of cordial understanding but even though her face was open and friendly, her eyes were ruthless and shrewd and they reminded her that this vampire excelled at deception. “So you’re here because you’re curious… Not so surprising as you always allowed your curiosity to get the better of your common sense.” She commented with false casualness, brown eyes carefully analyzing every single one of her movements.

And it was only because she refused to give the vampire the satisfaction of knowing she’d caught her by surprise that she kept her expression mild and amiable.

“And prideful too” Katherine added with all too knowing eyes and a big smirk “You always hated to show when you were feeling vulnerable.”

Aria hummed, nodding. “You know me… but not this version of me.”

If anything, the vampire seemed more interested now. “And you don’t seem surprised by this. Most people balk at the idea of reincarnation…. Then again, you never were like the majority.”

She couldn’t help but huff in exasperation, already feeling a little tired of all this talk in circles. “Even though you keep hinting and hinting how much you about know me... You cannot have been very close to me in my past life, otherwise, you would have come to me before this.”

“Maybe” Katherine shrugged “Or maybe I stayed away for your benefit. To protect you from the truth of your past.”

“Oh? What truth could this be?” she asked, playing along.

“The truth about why you were sentenced to be reborn again.” The vampire declared, her voice low and ominous. “You’re here, Aria Black, as a punishment for the alliances you kept in your past life.”

Aria scoffed, loudly. “That’s just a load of crap.” After all, the only thing she knew for certain about her reincarnation was that Death had done it to test her, not to punish her. “And I would love to stay here chatting with you, so I can see what else you can come up with but I’m a little more interested in knowing the real truth.” And then, without giving her any warning, she lifted her wand and intoned two words she knew by heart. “ _Petrificus Totalus_!”

The full body-bind curse froze Katherine in the exact moment that her expression had changed to surprised, and she got a second to enjoy it before gravity made itself know and the frozen body of the vampire fell to the ground with a loud thump.

“Now” she said, smiling sunnily as she crossed the ward and entered the tomb “Stay still for a moment, okay? Oh, right, you can’t move. My bad.” Even in the dim light of the tomb, it was easy to see the fury shining in the vampire’s eyes as she heard her words. It was glorious. 

She kneeled by Katherine’s side, putting her wand in her forehead as she made eye contact. “ _Legilimens_ ”

It was like being punch in the head with a massive mountain of information that flashed too quickly through her mind for her to understand anything. The truth was that, even ten years after she started learning legimency, she still needed to have contact and say the incantation because she didn’t have many opportunities – or people really – to practice. So her experience with this brand of magic was limited and, before this, the most complex mind in which she’d been was Hermione’s. But Katherine’s mind was on another level altogether. It wasn’t only well-organized and very, very complex but so vast that it was possible to lose herself in it. It was like submerging herself in a huge labyrinth that held centuries of information and memories. 

But she refused to be beaten. So she forced herself to focus and navigate Katherine’s mind in search of her memories of her. And then, somehow, she got sucked into flashes and pieces of memories.

She saw Katherine, wearing long curly hair and an old dress, beaming in happiness at another version of her in the middle of a great hall. Around her past-self were other people but their faces were clouded in darkness and she couldn't distinguish them. _‘Welcome to our home’_ Her old-self greeted, smiling with apparent warm even if she knew herself well enough to read the hesitation of her movements and the faint lines of tension on her face.

The memory changed quickly and she saw herself walking through a very beautiful and gigantic garden, her arm linked with Katherine’s. ‘ _I hear from a little bird that you and my dear older brother are growing closer.’_ Her old-self chanted with a teasing smile that hid the wariness in her emerald green eyes.

The Katherine of the past blushed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. _‘He invited me to a ride with him tomorrow, milady.’_

 _‘That’s wonderful.’_ But it wasn’t. Something deep, deep inside of her told her that those were very alarming news.

And then the memory changed again and she found herself in a forest at night. Abode her, the almost full moon shined, illuminating the two figures arguing by a tree. One of them was definitely Katherine, but she wasn’t the beaming and blushing girl from the past two memories. At that moment, she looked very, very afraid and her eyes were shining with a mix of fierce determination and grim resolution. At her side stood a very pale boy with long brown hair and soft features. And for all that he also looked afraid, there was no mistaking the adoration with which he looked at the past version of Katherine.

 _‘If we run…’_ she was saying.

The pale boy shook his head. _‘They would catch us before we make it through the forest.’_

 _‘But if we hide…’_ Katherine insisted.

_‘It won’t matter. Her magical powers are so strong that she could find us anywhere.’_

Something cold settled on Katherine’s eyes. _‘Then we need to make sure she’s unable to use her powers.’_

For the first time, the boy’s expression turned uneasy. _‘What are you thinking?’_

_‘Do you love me, Trevor?’_

_‘Of course I do’_ Trevor swore fiercely.

Katherine’s smile was sweet and enchanting but her eyes were flashing with satisfaction. _‘Then this is what I need you to do...’_

The memory ended so abruptly that it took her a second or two to realize that her control over Katherine’s mind was fading too fast to be normal. And, without warning, she was pushed out of the vampire’s head and into the real world.

Aria stumbled to sit as a name rang, loud and clear, in her head, like some part of her, hidden deep down, was saying it to her. And, suddenly, she was certain of something. “Katerina” she murmured, blinking at the vampire who was standing in front of her. “Katerina Petrova…. That’s your real name.”

“That’s really impressive.” Katherine commented, apparently not restricted by her magic anymore “And I’ve got to say that getting into my head using legilimency was a very nice touch… But, sadly for you, I learned a couple of tricks through the centuries.” And then she used her super-strength to send her flying to the opposite side of the tomb.

Her head was the first thing that impacted on the wall, making her cry out in pain as her vision blurred and her wand fell from her hand. A moment later, she was lying on the ground, feeling her whole body ached with a kind of pain she hadn’t experience in years.

“You know, I was actually trying to be nice… but now you’re here and I’m kind of hungry… and I also need you to get me out of this damn place so…” The vampire flashed towards her, lifting her from the ground with one hand and then biting her neck. Hard.

It was impossible for her to not cry out as she felt how the vampire drained her life force as she sucked her blood. It was awfully painful. And the arms of steel that kept her restricted didn’t help matters. But for all that she was still dizzy, of-balance and in general pain, this wasn’t the worse situation in which she’d been. Not by a long shot. So Aria forced herself to ignore the bloody pain and the growing grogginess on her mind to focus on her magic, calling it all out.

She wanted the pain to stop.

She wanted the vampire far away from her.

She wanted to be free. 

Now.

As always, her magic bowed at her command, sending Katherine flying away from her with an explosion of power that broke at least a couple of her bones. But that wasn’t enough punishment for the pain she’d caused her. And Aria was moving before the thought was fully formed on her mind, lifting her hand in the direction of the vampire and whispering one single word. “ _Sectumsempra_ ”

On the ground, Katherine – Katerina – trashed out in pain as her body was torn open by dozen of lacerations, causing severe hemorrhaging from all her main arteries. As a vampire, she was unable to die from blood loss but this way Aria’s blood wouldn’t be on her system anymore and she would end up desiccating much more quickly. And, just to be safe, she froze her whole body again. She knew the spell would fall but without blood to regenerate her body, it would take a long while.

That done, she turned away from the vampire to summon her wand and pointed it to her throbbing neck. “ _Episkey_ ” She almost sighed in relief when the pain in her neck stopped immediately. A couple of healing spells later and she almost felt like herself again. She would still need to drink a blood-replenishing potion and probably pour some essence of dittany on the wound on her neck to erase any scar but, excluding her blood-soaked clothes, she was as good as new.

“Well, I think it’s time for me to leave.” She announced cheerfully, looking into the direction of the vampire and noting that the lacerations kept getting bigger and bigger. Uh, Snape was an even bigger sadistic bastard than she’d first thought. “I hope that you rot in here for all the eternity, Katerina Petrova.”

Without saying anything else, Aria left the tomb and made her way to the surface. She was about to appear to her bathroom to take a long and relaxing bath when her phone, safely tucked in the pocket of her jeans, started to vibrate. It was a message from Caroline.

‘ _SOS. Lockwood mansion. Inside the study._ ’

She almost groaned, instinctively knowing she would need to wait for a while to get that relaxing bath. But Caroline was asking for her help so she didn’t waste time and appeared right in the middle of the study in the Lockwood mansion.

The first thing she saw was Caroline, who stopped pacing and sighed in relief as soon as she saw her. Then she noticed that Tyler lying unconscious on the sofa and, a couple of feet from there, on the floor, was the body of another girl she’d seen in passing on the hallways of the school.

She couldn’t help but gape at the scene, confused.

“Caroline?” she said, that one word carrying a question – What the hell happened? – and a demand – Start explaining now – all at once.

“Well, you see, Tyler activated his curse by killing Sarah. It was an accident! And… Is that blood?!” The blonde flashed to her side, checking her over with worried eyes. “Are you okay?! What happened?”

“I’m fine. This is nothing.” She assured her “I’m more interested in what happened here. If that’s Sarah on the floor… Why is Tyler unconscious? He’s alive, right?”

“Yeah, he’s alive. He was freaking out so I knocked him out… But then I realized that everything needed to be covered up in order for Elena and the Salvatores to not suspect Tyler is a werewolf now, and I started to freak out because I don’t have a clue on how to disappear a body and yeah… that’s why I asked for help.”

It was a mess, Aria decided. Not only they needed to sort out how they were going to cover this up without blaming the death on anyone, but there was also the tiny little fact that now there was an untrained, inexperienced, and teenager werewolf without a pack on the town. And he was going to need someone with some sort of experience in the area to teach him the basics. 

Aria sighed, already knowing what she would end up doing. “Bloody hell”

* * *

**& &&//04//&&&**

* * *

The pencil moved expertly over the sketchbook, drawing the familiar face of the love of his life with gentle strokes. He added the details with special care, never stopping or pausing his movements even though he was listening to the report one of the vampires on his service was giving him.

“…Finally, there are rumors that a vampire under the orders of Katerina Petrova is looking for you.”

His hand stopped in the middle of the final stroke. Slowly, he lifted his gaze from his sketch to the vampire in front of him. “Katerina?” Niklaus repeated carefully, an old fury raising inside of him at the mere name of the backstabbing doppelgänger whore.

The vampire was smart enough to sense the danger because he hurried to say. “Yes, milord. The reports say that Katerina sent this vampire looking for you in order to make a trade for her life.”

Niklaus almost snarled. Katerina’s betrayal had been unforgivable then and it was still unforgivable five centuries later. There was nothing she could possibly give him to make him even consider the possibility of granting her freedom. Except… “Do you know what she’s offering in exchange for her life?”

“No. The reports say the vampire working for her is being very secretive about the whole thing.”

“And this vampire’s name is…?”

“Isobel”

Niklaus nodded, the name didn’t sound familiar so it’d to be a relatively new vampire. “Find her and bring her to me.” He ordered, returning his attention to his drawing.

“Of course.” His vampire said, flashing out of the room as soon as he finished speaking.

Alone at last, he stared at his drawing. In it, Ingrid was smiling brilliantly, as beautiful and radiant as she’d been the last time he’d seen her alive.

Once upon a time, he used to drew and paint her because she was his favorite muse. The source of love, light, and hope on his life. His reason for happiness. But that wasn’t the case anymore. Not since she’d been killed and forcibly taken away from his side.

Now, he drew and painted her as a permanent reminder.

 _‘I love you… And I’ll see you soon_.’ She’d said smiling the last time he’d seen her.

But the next time he’d seen her, she’d been nearly unrecognizable, her corpse had been a burned and broken shadow of the love of his life. And as he’d held her dead body on his arms, he’d almost go mad with grief, pain, and fury. Because how could he go on living when the person he loved the most – his source of happiness – was no longer a part of the world.

The only thing that had kept him sane ever since was the knowledge that, one day, he would see her again.

 _‘We need to do the spell now’_ Kol had said that fateful day _‘Do you understand me, Niklaus? If we want this to work, we need to do it now!’_

 _‘And are you sure she’ll be back?_ ’ he’d demanded, staring into his brother’s eyes.

 _‘I’m sure… If we do this, Ingrid will reborn again someday’_ Kol had declared, the grief and pain in his eyes also carrying the unwavering security that had convinced all of them. _‘It may take decades or centuries… but someday, she’ll be back with us again.’_

And so, Niklaus kept drawing and painting the love of his life, as a permanent reminder that, one day, he would see her again. As beautiful, radiant, and alive as he kept her in his memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a penny for your thoughts? I really want to know what you think.  
> P.S.1. Elijah appears - front and center in the present - in the next chapter!! I'm so excited to write about that!  
> P.S.2. I'll try to post the new chapter by July 18th, but I make no promises. If I don't post it by that date, then it's probably going to happen after I finish my finals in the last week of July. Wish me luck!


	6. Things that never fade away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A thousand and one apologies for the late update. Life took a turn for the unpredictable and chaotic after I finished university - with flying colors, yey! - so I didn't have any time to finish this chapter. But here it is! And it's almost forty pages long.  
> Anyway, thank you so much for your continued support of this story. You've no idea how much it meant to me that you kept leaving comments, giving it kudos, bookmarking it, and subscribing to it. So I really hope you like this chapter!!  
> Ps. Hope you and your loved ones are safe and happy in this crazy time.

#  **CHAPTER V**

**THINGS THAT NEVER FADE AWAY**

**_Denmark, 1495 A.D._ **

_When she was five years old – or maybe six; honestly, after so many years, her memory was a little fuzzy on the details – Ingrid had learned something that defined her from then on._

_She didn’t remember how it’d began. In her memories, it all had started when she’d found herself alone and vulnerable in the outskirts of the woods, being attacked by Erik, the oldest son of the chief of their village. At the time, he’d been twelve years old, had some experience fighting and, for some inexplicable reason, had a very, very obvious grudge against her. Maybe it was because of her magic – which had already manifested itself by that point, letting everyone in their village know there was something off about her – or maybe it was simply because of the small, shy, orphaned girl made for a very easy target. But, for whatever reason, Erik had decided that attacking her was a perfect way to spend his afternoon._

_It’d been only taunting at first – that much she could remember – but it’d escalated rapidly after he’d gotten frustrated with her lack of reaction. And, before she could comprehend what was happening, he’d been throwing small rocks at her. Ingrid had tried to run away after the first stone had hit her, but Erik had been older and faster, and he’d been too caught up on his own twisted entertainment to understand he’d been hurting her. And so, in between one moment and the next, she’d found herself on the ground, trying to protect herself as he seemed to loom over her, laughing and throwing stones at her._

_Most children would have cried in that situation. And a part of Ingrid had wanted nothing more than curl herself into a ball and cried her eyes out. But the more he’d laughed as she cried out in pain, the more her fear had turned into a type of fury – rage – she hadn’t known before then._

_Even at her young age, she’d known that what he was doing was very, very wrong._

_So she’d remained curled in the grounded, feeling her body’s suffering at every stone thrown at her, and felt how her fury grew and grew and grew until something – deep, deep inside of her – had snapped._

_Even centuries later, she remembered with perfect clarity what happened next. Her magic had flared out from inside of her – wild, powerful, and uncontrollable – and had sent Erik flying away from her. His body had impacted a nearby tree, making a gruesome sound that had seemed to echo through the whole forest, and then he’d fallen to the ground, like a ragdoll without its master. And Ingrid had slowly sat, trembling from head to toe, as she stared, in a mix of horror and panic, at the blood coating the ground around Erik’s motionless body._

_She’d screamed._

_And, suddenly, Elijah had been right there next to her, taking in everything with his intelligent brown eyes, from her bruised self to the injured teen a few feet from them. After a moment, his face had set onto a resolute expression that she hadn’t seen before then and, without a word to her, he’d marched towards Erik and started pummeling him without mercy._

_Later – much, much later – she would look back to that moment and understand why Elijah did what he did, why he’d stained his innocent hands with the blood of someone she'd hurt. But in that instant, she hadn’t understood. Not yet. ‘Stop it, Lijah!’ she remembered crying out, rushing towards them in panic, no understanding why her big brother – who was good and just and kind – wasn’t helping Erik out ‘You’re hurting him more! Stop!’_

_But Elijah had ignored her completely and, before she could do anything, all hell had broken loose when several people – including her uncle and the chief of the village – had appeared, rushing to separated Elijah from the unconscious teen on the ground. Everything had become a blur then, one moment they’d been in the woods and in the next, they’d been in front of the vast majority of their village, as the chief passed sentence for attacking and gravelly injuring another person._

_‘Six lashes.’ the chief had declared, glaring down at Elijah. ‘Two for every broken bone on my son’s body.’_

_Ingrid had been five – or six, or whatever – but she hadn’t been stupid. She’d known her magic was responsible for Erik’s broken bones. She’d been the one who deserved the punishment, no her big brother. So she’d tried to step forward and take the blame but Elijah had stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder before she could even open her mouth._

_‘Don’t.’ Her big brother had said sternly, staring directly into her emerald green eyes. ‘I was the one who attacked him, not you… Do you understand, little sister?’_

_Then Elijah – noble and kind Elijah; her big brother who told her stories at night about warrior princesses and magic; who was only eleven – had marched forward with his head high and his back straight, and took a whipping, in front of the vast majority of their village, with a dignity that most adults didn’t have._

_She remembered – as vivid as if it was happening right then – how she’d gone running towards him, crying out in horror as the whip made contact with his back for the first time and her brother’s face had contorted in pain. She’d been begging as she ran – Please. Stop. He’s my brother. Please. It’s my fault. Don’t hurt him. Please. – but nobody had seemed to hear her._

_Nobody but Finn._

_‘Stop, little sister.’ Finn had said, his voice rough and unstable as he imprisoned her in the cage of his arms ‘Don’t make this worse…. Don’t make Elijah’s efforts go to waste.’_

_Ingrid had gone limp in his arms, silently crying as she’d watched her big brother took a punishment that was meant for her. All because Elijah had wanted to protect her, his cousin by blood and his little sister at heart. And she’d known – with a certainty that had accompanied her from that day forward – that it was all her fault. Because if she hadn’t lost her temper, then her magic wouldn’t have hurt the chief’s son and Elijah wouldn’t have been forced to take the blame. Her lack of control over her magic was responsible for her big brother’s pain and the chief’s son’s injuries._

_So, from that day forward, Ingrid had tried her best to never lose her control over her magic ever again._

_It hadn’t been easy. Mainly because her magic was tightly bound to her emotions and, behind her smile and kind nature, Ingrid hid a terrifying and explosive temper. But also because she’d lived half of a millennium surrounded by a group of people with clashing personalities who loved to bicker and contradict one another. It hadn’t been easy but, for the most, she’d managed to avoid accidentals burst of unrestrained magic by perfecting the art of never losing her temper._

_Sadly, nothing was perfect and there were days when her control slipped._

_Days like that one, where the only thing she wanted was peace and quiet as she tried to finish designing a very, very, very complicated ritual – which involved the perfect combination of a set of very volatile and powerful ancient runes and a modified version of the fidelius charm – in an effort to create the perfect safe haven for her family. Because, if everything went according to her plans, the ritual would turn the mansion where they were living in into a magical sanctuary only accessible to the six of them. After the ritual was completed, the mansion would be their perfect refuge in any case of emergencies because, like with the fidelius charm, the knowledge of the house would be unable to exist on the minds of anyone who wasn’t them, even if they were literally in front of the window. What was even better, unlike the normal fidelius charm, there would be no secret keeper – and therefore no risk of the protections falling apart – as the magic would be anchored to the house itself._

_In other words, it would create the perfect safe house for all eternity, which was something her family desperately needed._

_That was why she’d spent the vast majority of the last three months locked inside her personal study, amidst dusty and ancient tomes of runes and charms, tons of parchment, eight blackboards and so much chalk that she was a little surprised by the fact her hair hadn’t turned completely white. She’d barely slept – no matter what anyone else said, two hours of sleep every other day was perfectly reasonable – and her only company had been Kol – who, after much complaining over how obsessed she’d become with this idea, had sat down beside her and had been helping her on the research part of the ritual – the house-elves – when they brought their meals – and, from time to time, Niklaus and Elijah – when they teamed up together to force her to eat or sleep._

_So, all in all, it was perfectly understandable that the fuse of her temper had shortened to the point of almost non-existence._

_And, at that moment, her family’s bickering was all but lighting up the fuse on fire._

_Because, for some unfathomable reason, her family – and she wasn’t even sure when Finn and Rebekah had returned from their trip to the countryside – had seemingly decided that her personal study was the perfect place to fight like little children over simple things that, after so many centuries, they really shouldn’t be fighting over._

_And, as their voices raised, her temper – and with it, her magic – flared up inside of her._

_“---- only you would get your heart broken after spending less than two months with a bloke. I don’t know what you were thinking---”_

_“---oh, it’s clear she wasn’t thinking. Falling for a human, completely pathetic---”_

_“--- shut up, you moronic little troll---”_

_“--- do you really want to go there? When you’re no better than a strumpet---”_

_“--- that’s enough! Our sister had gone through enough already without---”_

_“--- of course that would offend your pathetic sensibilities, you dull excuse of a---”_

_“--- enough! All of you! We’re family and we’ll start behaving---”_

_Ingrid wasn’t exactly sure when it happened._

_One moment, she was trying to read a paragraph for the fourth time as the voices of her family kept raising in the background; and, in the next, she felt her magic surge inside of her – powerful and wild – as everything in the room started to shake. The irritated voices quickly turned into surprised squeals as objects started to violently fly around the room and the ground itself started to tremble._

_She wanted to stop it – she really did – but her emotions were so over the place that her control over her magic was slipping from her like water through her fingers._

_And then, in the midst of all the chaos, a familiar pair of hands were placed on her shoulders, anchoring her – and her magic – to his presence. “Breathe, my love” Niklaus whispered in her ear, squeezing gently her shoulders as he hugged her from behind. “Just close your eyes and breathe.”_

_In a way, it almost appeared to be a form of magic, the way his mere presence served to ground her, helping to soothe her frayed nerves and, at the same time, calming her legendary temper in a way that almost nothing else could do._

_It was also ironic in a way._

_Since, most of the time, the love Nik and Ingrid shared served to enhance their emotions, not calm them. When it was about the other, their emotions were almost impossible to control as sadness quickly turned into despair and annoyance to rage. Concern became intense protectiveness and joy turned into blinding happiness. Because, at the end of it all, when it came to the other, their emotions burned as bright and fierce as the love they shared. For them, being in love was like an eternal flame that kept growing as the years turned into decades and then into centuries. Their love was a flame that never stopped burning. And their emotions, when it concerned the other, were a perfect reflection of that._

_Which made it all the more ironic that, when their fury was no directed to the other, Nik and Ingrid had the uncanny ability to ground each other, calming their respective legendary tempers with almost terrifying efficacy._

_And it was no surprise that, at that moment, her husband’s presence served to calm her down. Almost without realizing, Ingrid took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to erase everything from her mind – from her growing annoyance towards her family to her general tiredness and then to growing concern over her ability to actually create the ritual – and get hold of her emotions. With her eyes closed, the only thing anchoring to the world was the hands of the person she loved the most. The same person who was asking her to breathe._

_So she did._

_She took a deep breath and then she did it again. And again. And again. Until she felt her magic settle down within herself again, as her fury ebbed away and rationality kicked in, reminding her that she loved her family with all her heart and, in all their eternity together, she’d never used her magic against them, at least not with the intention on attacking or harming them. And she’d no intention on starting now, much less over something so petty and inconsequential._

_After a long, long sigh, she opened her eyes and turned her head a little to rest it in Nik’s chest. “I’m fine now.” she promised, feeling how he nuzzled her hair with his nose. “Thank you, dearest.”_

_“Think nothing of it, my love.” Nik assured her “We should have known better than fight here, especially when you’re working… But, don’t worry, Elijah is making sure our siblings are being properly scolded for their behavior. ”_

_It was only then that she noticed how quiet everything had become. Surprised, she turned around and gaped at the noticeable absence of her siblings in her private study. She lifted an eyebrow, bemused. “I didn’t hear anything.”_

_“Oh, no words weren’t needed to make them leave.” Nik said, looking a little too proud of himself as he sat by her side “My face alone told them how much they would suffer if they didn’t leave immediately as quietly as possible…. And Elijah took care of the rest.”_

_Ingrid smiled, letting her head fall into his shoulder. “Thank you”_

_“Anything for the light of my life.” He promised, kissing her temple. After a moment, he spoke again but this time his voice carried a note of concern “Are you feeling alright? I haven’t seen you lost control like that in a few decades, and never over something as inane as our bickering.”_

_“I know.” she groaned, feeling ashamed of her lack of control. “I should have handled it better. I know that… but it was just too much. The voices were getting louder and louder, and then my head started ringing and before realizing I’d---”_

_“---lost control” Nik completed, frowning. His head was tilted to the side as he studied her with familiar intensity. “Why are you pushing yourself so much over this ritual?” he finally asked, his shrewd eyes narrowed. “For you, this kind of drive is usually reserved for matters of life and death…. So I’ve to wonder, what makes this ritual so important?”_

_She stared at her husband – feeling trapped and exposed in a way that was unfamiliar when it came to him – as her heart started to beat faster in nervousness. And the worst part was the fact that he could perfectly hear her beating heart and draw his own conclusions from there. “Ingrid…” Nik said slowly – carefully – his eyes never leaving hers. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”_

_Yes, she wanted to say, there’s a lot of things that you don’t know._

_At that moment, as she looked into Nik’s eyes – those green-blue eyes that she’d fallen in love with when she was a child – Ingrid wanted nothing more than to open her mouth and tell him the whole truth. She wanted to make him understand why she was so desperate for this ritual to work. She wanted to tell him she was doing this to guarantee his safety. Their siblings’ safety. Because, if worst come to worst and her fears about Death’s words were proven true, then their family’s protection would be ensured._

_So she opened her mouth, ready to tell him everything she’d kept silent for so long, and felt how her magic surged and got her words stuck halfway through her throat. The binding of her magic was unyielding, powerful, and permanent, and, in a moment of clarity, Ingrid was reminded of the vow she’d made to Death what it seemed like a lifetime ago._

_‘I promise to never tell another living soul about you’ she’d told him at the end of their first meeting. And five centuries later, her magic was making sure that she kept her promise._

_Ingrid sighed, knowing her hands were tied._

_The vow would stop her from telling Nik anything about her encounters with Death. But maybe he could know a version of the truth. “I just want to make sure our family is safe.”_

_Most people would have been satisfied with that – it was a reasonable explanation after all – but her husband wasn’t one of them. If anything, his eyes seemed to narrow further in suspicion. “Where’s this fear for our security coming from? We’re safe. We’ve been for years. Nothing has threatened this family since…” His voice trailed off as his face contorted into a ferocious snarl as he jumped to his feet. “Is this because of that backstabbing doppelgänger whore? Is she the root of your fears?”_

_Nik didn’t wait for a confirmation from her – it was clear by his palpable wrath that he thought he’d solved the puzzled – and wasted no time in starting ranting about all the ways he would enjoy making Katerina Petrova pay for what she’d done. And Ingrid had to admit that even for her – who had partaken in all sorts of bloodsheds in the last half of millennia – some of her husband’s ideas seemed a little too excessive. Then again, in Nik’s mind, dismembering Katerina and then cooking all of the parts on a boiling cauldron filled with vervain while the doppelgänger was still alive, was a way of eradicating her supposed fears. And also avenge what had happened._

_And, if nothing else, Ingrid had to concede that her most recent meeting with Death was a result of Katerina’s betrayal. Which meant that there was some sort of truth to her husband’s accusations._

_“Katerina’s actions made me see that our family needs a sanctuary.” Ingrid said, cutting off Nik’s long – and imaginative – plan of revenge. “A place only accessible to our family.”_

_His face visibly softened at her words. “That doesn’t mean you’ve to push yourself to the brink of exhaustion…. We’ve all the time in the world.”_

_She shook her head immediately, refusing to dwell on that thought. “I can’t stop now… Not when I’m so close to finishing it.”_

_Nik was visibly exasperated with her response. But, after a moment, he sighed in resignation and retook his seat beside her. “Very well, my love. In that case, let me help you.” He said, taking her notes in his hands. At her surprised stare, he huffed a laugh. “Oh, don’t look at me like that, Ingrid. I might not have your knowledge – or Kol’s – but I’ve spent the last half of millennia by your side. And I’ve picked a few things along the way.”_

_She returned his smile with one of her own, knowing how true his words were. Then proceeded to spend the next hour explaining to him everything she’d done so far. “And, as you can see, I’ve almost everything solved. The only problem is that I can’t seem to find a way to make sure the protection of the ritual lasts forever.”_

_At her words, Nik’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Without any kind of recharge?”_

_“Yes.”_

_She could understand his reaction. What she was trying to do was completely unheard of. Wards, spells, and enchantments of protection weren’t designed to last forever. Normally, both could last for decades – maybe even centuries if the caster had been exceptionally powerful – but, eventually, the magic in them would start to deteriorate until it faded away. There were exceptions of course. Ways to ensure that the magic was recharged from time to time, making it possible for the magic to last indefinitely._

_A clear example of said exceptions was Hogwarts._

_The school’s protections were one of the strongest in existence – a natural consequence of being created by the combined magic of four of the most powerful wizards and witches in history – but the duration of said protections was anchored to the headmaster or headmistress of the school. The founders had created them that way to make sure that the protections would last for as long as the castle stood standing. Because, as long as there was a clear head of the school, their magic would serve to control, and as a recharger, to the wards and enchantments on the castle and its grounds._

_But what she was trying to do was completely different. As she wanted to create a kind of protection that would never need to add more magic to ensure it didn’t fade away. She wanted something that, once created, would last forever._

_After a long moment, her husband hummed in thought. “Then you’ll need to use something eternal to fuel the ritual.” He paused, seemingly considering something. “Something like our blood.”_

_“You know why I can’t use your blood.” She argued immediately._

_The blood of the original vampires was powerful – extremely so – but she’d stopped using it to create wards after the first few decades due to the risk the bloodlines presented._

_It’d come as a surprise when they’d finally understood – in terms of magic – how the transformation from human to a vampire truly worked. The blood served to make sure the transformation took place, yes. But it was the magic in the blood which connected all the vampires in existence. All of the vampires of a bloodline shared the same blood – diluted and less powerful but still the same – that their respective original. And that meant, in magical terms, that the vampires of a bloodline were recognized by Lady Magic as one single magical family, which their respective original as the head. And because of that, all the wards created with the blood of an original vampire would allow inside the vampires of their bloodline._

_And since they’d found out about that, all the blood wards they’d created had used Ingrid’s blood._

_Something that Nik knew very well._

_“I’m not saying that the blood should be the key to the protection, only the fuel.” He argued as he scanned the formulas draw in the chalkboards “The way I see it, our blood would ensure that the protections last forever and you can bind the key to let people in into another thing.”_

_Ingrid opened her mouth, ready to argue his words, but closed it immediately as she considered his words. Because, the more she thought about it, the more she realized the merit of his idea. If she could find something that bound the six of them together – besides their blood – then she could use that as the key to ensure only them would be allowed inside their sanctuary, and the blood would only be used as a fuel to make sure the magic in the protections never died out._

_And, as her mind raced with all the possibilities, something clicked into place when her gaze fell on the familiar Mikaelson ring on her finger. Something that bound them together and only the six of them had._

_Oh._

_That was perfect._

_Laughing in happiness, she threw her arms around Nik’s neck. “You’re a genius” she proclaimed, peppering his face with kisses. “I knew there was a reason why I’ve stayed married to you.”_

_“I’m glad that I could be of service.” He said dryly, more than a little amused, as he pulled her closer and kissed her properly._

_She let herself be pulled into his arms, giddy with relief. Because, from then on, no matter what happened to her, Niklaus and the rest of her siblings would always have a safe place to live._

* * *

**& &&//05//&&&**

* * *

Tyler was dreaming.

He was dreaming with memories of silly pranks and a girl with sunshine in her hair. His partner in crime. The one who had a smile that made him feel invincible.

He was dreaming with a time long lost, filled with laughter and innocent happiness. A time, long ago, before his father had hit him for the first time. Before he’d understood why his mother drank so much. A time long before he’d set himself on a quest to become strong enough to not fear anything – not even his own father – and had ended up lost – and alone; so utterly alone – on the process.

But, little by little, his memories started to lose their hold on him and he was able to hear the voices. 

“ _\---only needs a hair to work_ ”

“ _And are you sure it’s safe? No lasting effects?_ ”

“ _Of course it’s perfectly safe. I’ve been using it since I was twelve and it’d always come in handy…._ ”

“ _Well, if you’re sure._ ”

There was something familiar about the two voices, especially the last voice, something that restlessly tugged at his memory until he remembered who the girl with sunshine on her hair had grown up to be. Caroline. Caroline Forbes. And, as he thought about that, Tyler’s memories came back to him in a rush.

The masquerade party.

Drinking with Matt and Sarah in his dad’s study.

Fighting with Matt until Caroline had appeared out of nowhere and dragged Matt away.

Sarah stabbing him without cause or reason.

Pushing Sarah away and accidentally killing her in the process.

Caroline trying to calm him down as he felt something – untamed, powerful, and freakily familiar – awoke inside of him.

And then a muffled ‘ _Sorry for this, Tyler_ ’ before pain exploded at the back of his head and everything went dark. 

With a strangled gasp, Tyler jerked awake, sitting stride on the couch of his father’s study as he tried to get his breathing under control. Instinctively, his eyes sought the place of the floor by his father’s desk where Sarah had fallen after he’d pushed her. The place where her body had been lying after he’d killed her. But there was nothing there. Nothing at all. It was, in a lot of ways, like nothing had happened. Like his memories were a result of too much alcohol or a feverish dream. But that wasn’t possible. His memories – all of them – were real.

He was sure of it.

Tyler only needed to examine the changes within himself to know that. It wasn’t the fact that his vision had improved to a point beyond human reach, making the world around him somehow sharper and clearer. It wasn’t because his sense of hearing was suddenly so good that he could hear not only his beating heart but also the hearts of the two other people in the room with him. And it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that, based on their scent alone, he knew who those two people were. 

No. The reason why he was so certain his memories were real was that he could feel another presence – wild and powerful and unrestrained and animal – just under the surface of his conscience. Awake and waiting. Ready to take over him. And Tyler knew, with terrifying certainty what – or who – that another presence was. His wolf.

The wolf that had awoken inside of him after he’d killed someone he’d known for years.

With a shudder, Tyler turned around – no willing to think more about what happened; because he was sure he would end up crying if he did – and faced the two other people in the room with him, the ones who had stopped talking as soon as he’d woken up and were now carefully watching him. 

Seeing Caroline there – still impeccably dressed in her short red dress – wasn’t a surprise. Not when she’d been the only other person with him who had seen what happened. And also because he was pretty sure she’d been the one who knocked him out after he’d started to freak out. But Aria Black’s presence – and why the hell was she covered in dirt, blood, and God’s knows what else? – was another matter altogether. Especially when he didn’t have the best history with her. Or as much as a single invitation to go out, which had been swiftly but politely rejected, a drunken mishap where he’d gotten a little handsy, and a sprained hand – his – could be counted as history. 

And, to be honest, on a good day, he would have preferred to swallow his own underwear before show any kind of vulnerability in front of Aria – or Caroline for that matter – but there was something in her emerald green eyes – a quiet sort of knowing empathy – that made him forget about trivial things like his wounded pride and focus on what was really important. 

“You know.” Tyler said, his gaze going from Aria’s knowing ones to Caroline’s sympathetic eyes. “You know about me.”

Caroline made a face at his words, shaking her head and remaining frustratingly silent. And for all that she seemed perfectly composed, Tyler knew her enough to recognize the nervousness that was lurking in her cerulean gaze. “Don’t lie to me, Caroline. I know you better than that.” he insisted, fighting down the urge to snap at her for lying to his face.

The blonde huffed, in aggravation if he would guess, but finally nodded with a resigned sigh. “Yes, I know.”

“How?”

Nobody should have known. His uncle Mason – in those rare moments in which he’d been willing to talk about what being a werewolf entailed – had said it’d had become so rare for a Lockwood to trigger the curse that it’d become a tight-lipped secret even among the members of their family, as there were some of them – like his father before he died and now his mother – who didn’t know anything about it. And Caroline, who didn’t have anything to do with his family, shouldn’t have known anything.

And yet she’d known what was happening as soon as Sarah had died.

At his question, the blonde pursed her lips and stared at him in consideration. Knowing her for as long as he did, he would bet anything that she was making a mental list of the pros and cons of telling him the truth. She’d always been like that, even when they’d been children. Always meticulously in control of everything around her, leaving nothing to chance. But – to his open surprise, because it denoted a level of trust he hadn’t known Caroline shared with anyone – the blonde turned towards Aria, her cerulean eyes seeking reassurance for something he didn’t understand. In response, the petite black-haired girl nodded in encouragement. And, for some reason, that was all that Caroline needed, because she turned in his direction with a determinate look on her face.

“I knew about you because of this.” And then, Caroline’s face – the familiar face of someone he’d known his entire life – changed completely right before his eyes, morphing to something he’d never expected to see outside horror movies.

Fangs. – Tyler thought dazedly, feeling rather glad he was still sitting on the couch as his legs felt like jelly at the moment – Caroline had fangs.

“You’re a vampire.” He whispered. And even if the words sounded ridiculous to his own ears, he knew it was true. Somehow, someway, while he wasn’t paying attention, his life had turned into a supernatural story. 

“I am.” His childhood friend confirmed, visibly wary. “Are you afraid of me?”

It took a moment or two – because he still felt like someone had smacked him in the head with a brick – but he managed to voice his feelings aloud. “Of course not. You’re still the same Caroline I’ve always know… besides, I don’t think I’ve got the right to be afraid of anyone anymore.” No after what he’d done.

For some reason, Caroline didn’t seem to know what to do with his response, as she stared at him in disbelief for a solid minute before shaking her head. “But… but… why? I’ve killed someone before!”

“So have I.” he replied, shrugging, even if his stomach twisted in discomfort every time he thought about Sarah.

“You’re an idiot.” She decided, turning away from him, but not before he caught sight of the blooming smile she was trying to hide.

He stared at her in bewilderment, mentally wondering what he had done to make her react like that. But instead of asking why she was acting so strangely, he decided to focus his attention on the only other person in the room. The one who had been watching them in silence with barely conceal fondness on her emerald green eyes. 

“Are you a vampire too?” Tyler asked Aria, genuinely curious.

She seemed to find her question amusing if her growing grin was anything to go by. “What makes you think so?”

“Honestly? Because it would explain a lot about you.” He said, throwing a pointed look at her blood-stained clothes. 

Aria snorted, a smile still firmly in place. “No, I’m not... But I’m not a common human either. I’m a witch.” And with those astonishing words, because apparently, all the other surprises of the night hadn’t been enough, she made a little gesture with her hand and the flower base in front of him turned into a real-living-breathing-baby dragon.

Tyler gaped, feeling faint again, as the dragon huffed a ring of smoke towards him before it – he? she? – made itself comfortable in the coffee table on his father’s study.

“Aww! He’s adorable!” Caroline gushed, kneeling by the other side of the table to start petting the dragon without any kind of reservation. In response, the baby dragon started to purr like an overgrown cat, clearly enjoying the attention the blonde was giving him.

Looking at the way Caroline was beaming, clearly at ease with the blatant display of magic, Tyler had to wonder when her view of the world had changed so much. Perhaps – he thought hysterically, feeling on the brink of a mental breakdown – petting baby dragons have become the new normal for Caroline. After all, at some point when he wasn’t looking, she’d been turned into a vampire. And, like that wasn’t enough, she’d also become the new best friend of a witch who could turn flower bases into baby dragons.

Right.

Right.

He could handle that. He could.

“So you’re a witch.” He said, turning his head completely towards Aria and choosing to ignore, for the moment, the purring baby dragon in front of him.

The emerald-green eye beauty looked like she was trying very hard to not laugh at him. But, eventually, she managed to adopt a, somewhat, neutral expression and nodded. “I’m a witch.”

“And you decided to tell me your secret because you and Caroline are part of Mystic Falls’ supernatural club and want me to join?” he asked, half-dreading the answer. For what was left of his sanity, he really hoped that was not the case.

However, his question seemed to sober the two girls. Sighing, Aria waved her hand and – thankfully for his piece of mind – changed the baby dragon into its original state as a flower base.

“It was the only way for you to trust us.” Aria explained, shrugging “I doubt you would have let me handle everything if you hadn’t known about my powers.”

He frowned, more than a little confused. “I don’t… I don’t understand.” 

“We’re trying to protect you, Tyler.” Caroline said gently, like she was afraid he would bolt at any moment. “The thing is… Mystic Falls isn’t the boringly common town we’ve always thought…. And your life could be at risk if certain people discover the truth about you.”

Something heavy settled in his stomach when he heard those words. A part of him – the part that had grown up knowing he was untouchable in Mystic Falls – wanted to scoff at her words. He was the mayor’s son and nobody would be foolish enough to put him at risk, no when his mom wouldn’t need supernatural aid to rain hell on anyone who dared to harm him. But the rest of him reminded of all the unbelievable and impossible things he’d seen until then. And for all that, he couldn’t ignore the fact that Caroline knew even more of this bizarre supernatural world than him. And if she was worried, then he would be an utmost idiot to not take her seriously. 

“That’s why Caroline called me.” Aria added, redirecting his attention back to her. “To take care of everything and make sure nobody suspects what happened here tonight.”

Without permission, his eyes strayed towards the spot on the floor by his father’s desk where Sarah’s body had been the last time he’d seen it. The place where, at the moment, there was nothing on it. 

“I took care of her body.” Aria answered his silent question “I’m going to make sure her body is found somewhere far away so her family can properly mourn her, but I’m also going to make sure nobody ever founds out the real story of how she died… You have my word.”

“Why are you helping me?” he croaked, not knowing how else to respond. “I killed her… I… I’m a murderer and I deserve to be judged for that.”

Aria huffed, rolling her eyes. “No, you really don’t.” she said, sounding exasperated. “Listen to me carefully, Tyler Lockwood. You’re a seventeen years old kid who was born with a latent and powerful gene in his blood. A gene that’s designed to make the carrier more powerful than any normal mortal, so that one day the werewolf curse can be activated. And, what’s worse, you were not raised with that knowledge, nor did you received any sort of training in how to handle your abilities properly… And because you weren’t trained, nobody can blame you for what happened. Not even yourself.” 

There was a lump on his throat that he tried desperately to ignore. “My uncle Mason tried to train me before he left.” He argued in a whisper.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the way Caroline flinch slightly at his words. But before he could ask her about it, Aria shook her head, her eyes burning with an emotion he couldn’t identify. 

“Did your uncle teach you how to control your inhuman strength? Did he give you the means to control your explosive temper? Did he explain in detail how the werewolf gene works? Because if he didn’t, he failed to train you properly.”

He opened his mouth, ready to defend his uncle, but the words got stuck on his throat when he realized that, excluding the advice to keep practicing sports, his uncle had been very reluctant to talk with him about the werewolf curse. Though, to be fair with his uncle, after he’d realized how out of his depth he was, Tyler had stopped asking questions.

“I know a lot about werewolves, Tyler.” Aria said, her tone was gentle but firm at the same time. “So believe me when I say that Sarah’s death wasn’t your fault. And because I truly believe that, I’ve no problem in helping you to cover everything up.”

There was only one thing he could say to that, really. “Thank you.” He tried to sound as sincere as he felt and, judging by the way Aria’s face softened, Tyler thought he’d managed it.

“Now, it would be better if the two of you stay here for a while before joining the party again.” Aria announced, suddenly cheerful as she pulled a flask out of nowhere. “I’ll make sure Sarah is seeing exiting this room and talking with other people before she leaves the party, drunk and alone.”

He stared at her, incredulous. “And how on earth do you plan to do that?”

At that moment, Aria’s smile was full of mischief. “Like this.” she said, taking a long sip of the flask. And then, right before his eyes, Aria’s body started to change at an abnormally fast pace, morphing completely until, in her place, stood a grinning Sarah. “What do you think?”

Tyler gawked, his jaw hanging somewhere near the floor, as he tried to comprehend what had happened right in front of him. Luckily – because it seemed like he’d been rendered speechless more times that night than any other day of his life – he wasn’t alone on his gawking, as even Caroline seemed a little stunned by the display.

“I know you said you would look like her but I didn’t expect something like this… If I didn’t know better, I would think you were her.” Caroline said, voice filled with wonder.

Sarah – Aria – shrugged as she waved her hand in the direction of her clothes, changing them to look exactly like Sarah’s. “Like I’ve told you before, magic is a wondrous thing and it has many, many uses. Besides, this way, nobody would question anything… Now, remember what I said about staying here for a while, I’ll go first.” Suddenly, she grinned from ear to ear “I haven’t played the act of a drunk teenager in ages, this should be fun!” And, without waiting for any sort of reply, she practically skipped out of the room.

“Right… do you want to drink something while we wait?” Caroline asked after a moment, like nothing out of the ordinary just happened. As if they hadn’t just seen Aria Black transform her appearance to look like the girl Tyler had killed less than an hour ago. “Vodka? Tequila? Bourbon? All of the above?”

Tyler gaped at her, speechless once more. 

Caroline took one look at him and nodded, decisively. “All of the above is.”

* * *

**& &&//05//&&&**

* * *

Sometimes – in those rare moments of quietness in between all the craziness – Elena wondered how her life had turned up to be the complete opposite of what she used to want. 

Because, at some point, in between her parents’ death, her first meeting with Stefan and Damon, and then, eventually, discovering she was the doppelgänger of her psychotic vampire ancestor, her life had become a story straight out of a fantasy novel filled with endlessly supernatural happenstances. And, for the most part, she liked better this new version of her reality. It wasn’t the normal life she’d envisioned for herself when she was younger – her husband wouldn’t be her childhood sweetheart and her children would grow up hearing stories about the supernatural instead of fairytales – but this new version of her reality had allowed her to experience true love – the kind of love that inspired stories and lasted for eternity – and she wouldn’t give up that love for anything. 

Even if it meant missing classes because two vampires – who she hadn’t met before in her life – had decided to kidnap her.

“But who are the originals?” Elena insisted once more, after Trevor – one of her kidnappers – failed to explain why it was so important that she was delivered to them.

Since the moment she’d woken up inside the creepy and old mansion with only Trevor and Rose for company, Elena had set herself on a mission to discover everything there was to know about her situation. Especially after they’d told her she’d been kidnapped because she was the Petrova doppelgänger and her blood was the key to break the sun and the moon curse.

Sadly, neither of her kidnappers were being too forthcoming with their information.

“The original vampires.” Trevor said absently, not even looking in her direction, clearly more focused on covering all the windows from the light of the sun than answering her. “The first family… The rulers of the vampire race.”

Elena started, surprised by his words. “I didn’t know vampires have rulers.”

“Not officially, no.” he said, playing with his hands in an obvious nervous gesture. “But, as I just said, they’re the originals and their word is pretty much law amount our kind…. And because Rose and I pissed them off five centuries ago, we’ve been forced to be on the run since then.” 

Before she could comment on that, a voice – clear and pointed – added her thoughts to the conversation, reminding her of her presence. 

“Did you just say we? Because I think you’re counting too many people.” Rose said, not even turning towards them from her position by the only open window, allowing in the light of the sun.

Out of her two kidnappers, Elena was warier of Rose. She wasn’t exactly sure why. Maybe it was because Trevor’s actions felt familiar to her. It was in the way he mocked her all the while keeping a close eye on her, letting her know that, for all his threats and taunts, he wouldn't harm her, no seriously, because she had some value to him. But Rose, on the other hand, regarded with a kind of cold indifference she wasn’t accustomed to. There was no lust, no love, no compassion, no dislike, and no hate in her eyes. When Rose looked at her, it was almost like she was an object that held little importance to her, and that put her more on edge than she was willing to admit.

It didn’t help the fact that, out of the two of them, Rose seemed the leader. 

“Alright.” Trevor admitted, grimacing “I pissed the originals off and Rose was caught on the crossfire because of me.”

“What did you do?” Elena asked curiously. 

“He made the fatal mistake of trusting Katerina Petrova. And we ended up losing everything along the way.” Rose told her, absently holding a pretty necklace – her daylight charm? – as she looked out of the window. “But we won’t make any mistakes this time.” She added, turning to Trevor, who looked properly chagrined.

“I already told I’ll behave myself.”

He looked sincere enough to Elena, especially because he hadn’t been moved by her earlier pleas of help, but Rose only snorted, shaking her head. “You’ve to mean it, Trevor.” the vampire insisted “Elijah is a man of his word. If he accepts the deal, we’ll be free… Don’t you want that?”

“Of course I want to be free!” Trevor declared, but there was an odd emotion on his eyes that Elena couldn’t understand. “But I know them. I know him…. And after what I did, I don’t believe he’s going to be willing to pardon us.”

“He will.” Rose assured him, lifting her chin as she held onto her pretty necklace “After all, there are only two things the originals want. To break the curse…. And her.”

“Who?” Elena inquired, after realizing they weren’t looking at her. “Katherine?”

Trevor barked a derisive laugh, shaking his head. “Please… For them, Katerina is nothing but a traitor who’s going to get capture soon enough, and then she’s going to spend decades getting punished for her betrayal, getting tortured over and over again, until they get bored enough to allow her the sweet relief of death.” He said, sounding indifferent and dismissive like he wasn’t talking about someone he’d once risked everything for. “No, the one they want is someone of extreme value for them. The most powerful witch in history. The Immortal Witch. The Lady In---”

“That’s enough, Trevor!” Rose snapped, cutting him off, her face set on a fierce scowl. “Don’t say her name. Not in front of her.”

“Oh, come one, Rose.” He protested, whining like a child. “It’s not like the doppelgänger is going to live long enough to tell anyone.”

Elena pressed her lips together, fighting back the indignation rising inside of her. It rattled her, the way they talked about her. For them, she wasn’t a human being with dreams and loved ones. She was just the doppelgänger, the key to break the sun and the moon curse. 

“I said no.” Rose said, her tone biting and final. “We gave them our vow.”

Trevor snorted. “It’s not like this will be the first vow we broke. We’re on the run, remember?”

“You might have broken your vows to them, Trevor. But I made a vow to her. And it’s a vow I’m not willing to break… Not even for you.” Rose’s words carried something Elena wasn’t sure she’d seen before. A rare kind of loyalty – she thought, watching how Rose held onto her necklace like it was a lifeline. Perhaps it was loyalty towards the person who gave her that necklace. 

“Yes, I know perfectly well where your loyalties lie, Rose. No need to remind me.” Trevor murmured, shaking his head and turning away from Rose. But for all his apparent indifference, Elena thought his eyes had flashed with fear for a moment when Rose had spoken. “Elijah should be here at any minute.”

“I’ll check the perimeter outside.” Rose offered.

“I’ll call our contact and make sure he got our message.” Trevor nodded.

And, without a word or look towards her, the two vampires flashed out of the room, leaving Elena alone for the first time since she’d woken up in the dreary and dusty old mansion.

With a sigh, she let herself fall into the old couch. She needed time to think about everything she’d learned so far, and she also needed a way to ensure this Elijah didn’t take her away. Surely he would understand that she was human and didn’t deserve to die just because she was Katherine’s doppelgänger?

Just then she felt something on one of her pockets. Curiously, she took out a piece of paper filled with Bonnie’s familiar writing.

_‘Stefan and Damon are coming for you. Don’t worry. –B.’_

And, for the first time that day, Elena allowed herself to smile. They were coming for her. Soon enough, she would be safe once more.

She just needed to hang on for a little while more.

* * *

**& &&//05//&&&**

* * *

She was going to convince Aria to add a class on how to get away with murder 101 to her lessons, Caroline decided as she listened to the rumor mill about Sarah’s death.

It wasn’t because she was planning on murdering anyone anytime soon – if it depended solely on her, Caroline would never see another dead body ever again – but due to the fact that she wasn’t naïve enough to believe she could live her immortal life without facing any dangers. It was inevitable, that someday, sooner or later, she would bloody her hands again and when that happened she wanted to know how to deal with the situation.

And, as last night had proven, Aria was an expert on how to spin a murder situation to make it look like a normal and ordinary accident. 

Caroline didn’t know all the details – there hadn’t been enough time for a full recap when Aria had called her just before sunrise to tell her she’d taken care of everything – but she knew enough to be impressed. Because, according to the police officer who had gone to notify the school’s faculty about what had happened, Sarah’s death had been ruled as an unfortunate and tragic car accident. Supposedly, multiple witnesses had seen Sarah, who had been perhaps drunker than anyone had realized, leave the masquerade party and hop on her car. And, as a result, she’d been unable to react fast enough when a deer had crossed the road, causing an accident which had killed her on impact. That was what had happened. All the evidence pointed to it. And everyone believed it.

Everyone except Caroline. And, of course, Tyler. And that was only because they’d seen with their own eyes how Sarah had died.

Which made it all the more impressive.

Aria had used a combination of magic and lies to create a full-proof masterpiece that had exonerated all of them of any kind of blame. And Caroline was determined to learn how to do the same. After all, with everything that was happening in Mystic Falls, it would probably come in handy sooner rather than later. 

“Aren’t you going to help?” Tyler asked, his voice nothing but a whisper, as he pointed with his head the large group of their classmates who had decided to gather around Sarah’s locker in an effort to put together a memorial for her. They’d been working on it since the bell had rung, ending the classes for the day, and, so far, they were failing to put together something moderately decent.

“No.” If things had gone different – if she hadn’t been turned or if she’d no idea about the supernatural – then she would have been there, taking charge of everything even though Sarah had been nothing but a classmate to her, someone with whom she’d shared a lifetime of classes and extracurricular activities but nothing remotely personal. Nevertheless, none of that had been meant to be. And, after helping to cover up what had really happened to her, Caroline had no place on Sarah’s memorial. “I don’t belong there.”

Tyler nodded solemnly. By the uncomfortable – and guilty – expression on his face every time he so much as looked in the direction of Sarah’s locker, she knew he understood her feelings a little too well.

The two of them had grown up normal, believing that there was nothing more than their boringly common lives and they’d been snapped out of that misconception with the blood of someone else’s in their hands. In a way, their situations were so similar that it was uncanny. After all, at the heart of everything, both of them had been irrevocably changed after taking someone else’s life. And, just like Aria had done for her, Caroline would be there for Tyler, stopping him from drowning in his own guilt and making him understand it hadn’t been his fault, not really. “I’m starving.” She announced, purposely turning her back on their classmates. “Let’s go to The Grill and grab a bite.”

“Sure.” He accepted immediately, sounding distinctly relieved as he matched her strides and left Sarah’s memorial behind.

Twenty-five minutes later, they were sitting on the most private booth of the restaurant, far away from the door, prying eyes and Matt’s curious gaze. They were eating their burgers as Tyler grilled her for details about Mystic Fall’s supernatural secrets, how she’d been turned, and her relationship with Aria.

He wasn’t outright prying or anything but it was obvious he was very, very curious about everything – who wouldn’t? – and Caroline was having a hard time being honest without revealing too much. It wasn’t like she was planning on hiding the truth from him or anything. Because she was perfectly aware of the fact that – as a new supernatural creature – he deserved to know the full truth of the world he was now a part of, especially the part of what really happened to Mason.

Sadly, some of the things she needed to tell him were of a very sensitive nature and the most popular restaurant in their town was not an adequate place to reveal such things. Any public space was a horrendous suggestion, really. And that was because, as someone who still didn’t have any control over his new powers, Tyler needed to learn the full truth somewhere far away from any curious eye, where he could let lose his temper and not end up revealing himself in the process. 

More importantly, Aria needed to be there when Tyler learned the whole truth. She was the only one who could tell him about the secret magical world.

The only silver lining was the fact that Aria had promised to tell Tyler everything very soon – like as soon as she saw him next – and so Caroline didn’t felt too guilty about omitting parts of the truth, only vaguely uncomfortable. 

“Is that why you trust her so much?” Tyler asked after Caroline finished explaining to him – in very loose details – how Aria had saved her life after she’d been turned and then she’d taken her under her wing, teaching her everything there was to know about this new life. “Because, to be frank, I always thought hell would freeze over twice before you would blindly trust someone.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, offended, as she crossed her arms and lifted her eyebrows in a silent challenge, daring him to continue with that line of thought. 

Instead of backing down like she’d been hoping, Tyler crossed his arms and stared back at her, arrogant and amused at all once. It was a familiar look on his face, one she hadn’t seen in a while. And there was a part of her – the part that wasn’t annoyed about his comment – that was relieved to see a familiar expression on his face. Even if she would never admit it out loud, it was good to know that Tyler’s new activated lycanthropy hadn’t killed all of his usual arrogance.

“It means that you don’t trust easily, Forbes.” He explained, slowly and deliberately, so much so that she wanted to throttle him. Just a little. “Not about the important stuff, anyway… You never have. No even when were children.”

“That’s not true!” she protested immediately, indignant “I trust people! I do! I always have! I even trusted you when we were children! Or do you not remember all of the amazing and superior pranks we used to pull off together?”

Tyler’s lips twitched like he was fighting down the urge to smile, and his eyes softened slightly but he shook his head and stared determinately at her. “Yeah, I remember. And you know what else I remember?” he asked “How the two of us used to butt heads because you never let me work alone on a prank… At least not without your approval, or constant supervision.”

“You need to be supervised, Lockwood!” she argued, hotly “Your original idea of a funny prank was putting bleach in our parent’s drinks! I needed to make sure nobody was going to be seriously hurt! Or worse!”

Under all her indignation, Caroline was perfectly aware of what she was doing. She knew her words could irate him, and she was saying them anyway because making Tyler angry was the most effective way of stopping this line of conversation. After all, his temper had always been his Achilles heel, the quickest way to cloud the sharp and cunning mind he normally hid behind a mask of cockiness and bravado. 

To her surprise though, instead of getting angry, Tyler only smirked in her direction. His eyes dancing with smugness, as if _she_ was the one who was behaving exactly as he wanted. 

“No, I don’t think that was the reason. Or at least, not completely…. Do you know why you don’t trust people, Forbes? Because doing so would mean you’ve to give up control to others, and that goes against your neurotic control-freak nature.” He said, looking straight into her eyes. 

In any other circumstances, Caroline would have flinched at the familiar words, hurt by the fact that another person she cared about only saw the worst parts of her. It would have crushed, to be so openly rejected by someone she only wanted to help, someone she thought was in a similar position as her.

But the hurt she was expecting didn’t come.

And it didn’t come because Tyler’s words lacked the biting and cruel sting with which so many others had said some variation of those same words. His tone of voice was plain and casual like he was saying something that was perfectly natural, and his laid-back posture was a reflection of that. More importantly, there was nothing hurtful or hateful in his gaze, only steady reassurance.

And she knew, with a certainty that was almost scary, that he wasn’t trying to hurt her.

It took a couple of times but she untied her tongue enough to whisper some sort of retort. “You said it like it’s a normal thing.”

He shrugged, still completely relaxed. “It’s a part of who you are, who you’ve always been. There’s nothing wrong with that.” He paused, his tone and expression becoming more awkward than casual but not for that less truthful. “Especially because that part of you doesn’t define you. There’s more to you than that, Forbes.”

There was something in her chest – something warm, and light, and wonderful – that grew with his stiff but sincere words, as well as his comforting expression. But Caroline refused to name it or dwell on it. Instead, she raised her chin and pretended to be unaffected. “And here I thought you stopped being friends with me because I’d became an insecure and neurotic ditzy blonde.”

Tyler huffed a small laugh, his mirthful eyes never leaving hers. “That’s funny. Because, as I remembered it, you were the one who decided that being friends with an impulsive, hotheaded jerk was too much trouble.”

“I think I called you a jackass, actually.” She shot back.

“And I actually said you were acting like a bitchy princess” he fired right after.

They held gazes for a long moment – their eyes filled with mirth and the dozens of things they weren’t saying out loud – silently daring the other to say something else. Caroline was the one who broke down first, throwing her head back as she laughed freely, feeling how a weight she didn't know she'd carried disappeared from her shoulders. A second later, Tyler was doing the same, practically guffawing.

After a long moment, long enough to get their laughter under control, he shook his head in warm exasperation. “Gosh, we were such brats.”

“We were.” She agreed, fondly. “I don’t know how anyone could have put up with that.”

“They were trying too hard to get into our good graces to say anything.”

“Probably… But it’s weird how all those things have lost their importance after everything that has happened recently.”

Her comment served to sober him up, making him grimace. “I know what you mean…. With everything that happened last night… well, it put things into perspective, isn’t it?”

She nodded in silence, understanding the feelings shinning in his eyes more than she thought possible. 

For someone who didn’t know their history, it would be very strange how quickly they’d formed this sort of camaraderie and understanding. But to Caroline, it felt a lot like the clock had turned itself back and she was a child once more, sharing conspiratorial laughs and secrets when the friend who understood her the most.

The truth was that, among their group of childhood friends, Tyler and Caroline had always been the odd ones out. The rebellious ones. The ones with the mischievous streak and the natural desire to prove themselves. They’d been the only ones who had dared to face their parents’ wrath if it meant to go and have some adventures on their own. In contrast, Bonnie, Matt, and Elena had been the good and dutiful ones. The perfect examples of how they should behave. 

And even if it’d stung to know they weren’t what their parents wanted, they’d at least stood together on the outside and, back then, that had been enough. 

They’d been very close back then, Caroline remembered. Thick as thieves. Or at least, they’d been until they’d started to grow apart in middle school when she’d started to act the part of Miss Perfect Popularity and he’d became the alpha male of their school, as he played the part of the cool guy who didn’t care about anyone.

But somehow, someway, among all the crazy and unbelievable turns their lives had taken, they’d found themselves back again on the same side. And for that, she was grateful. 

“You haven’t answered me, you know.” He said after a while, bringing her back from her deep thoughts.

“Eh?”

“About Aria Black.” He clarified “And why you trust her so much.”

“It’s complicated.”

“The way I see it, everything in our lives is complicated right now... And it can’t be worse than discovering werewolves, vampires and witches are real.”

 _‘You’ve no idea’_ Caroline thought but bite her tongue before she could actually say it out loud. It wasn’t the right time, not yet. So, instead of dwelling on the things she couldn’t say, she carefully considered his question as she looked in the direction of the ceiling, lost in her memories. 

“You’re right.” She admitted, after a long while “I trust Aria… I trust her more than I’ve ever trust another person ever before. And it’s not just my life and secret I trust her with… I trust her to guide me on the right path to happiness.”

In front of her, Tyler stared at her with wide eyes, stunned. “Well, that’s… A lot of faith and trust for someone you’ve only started to really get to know a couple of months ago.”

“I know it sounds crazy.” She acknowledged, because if someone had told her a year ago that she would end up trusting someone that much, she wouldn’t have believed it either. “But nobody has cared for me in the way Aria has done. She… She has done so much for me in such a short time, and I... I’ve come to love her, Tyler. Love her as if she was my older sister. Family.”

She expected Tyler to say something – anything – but he just gaped at her, more than a little surprised. However, his dark eyes weren’t disbelieving or disapproving, and Caroline found herself relaxing as words kept pouring out of her mouth. “Aria isn’t perfect. I know that. She’s ruthless and vicious when angered. She’s stubborn and proud, and sometimes I think she would prefer to break before bending to anyone else’s rules. And she won’t hesitate to kill and bloodied her hands if she thinks it’s necessary. But… but she isn’t cruel. She’s honest and loyal to a fault. She’s also caring, cunning, kind, and intelligent. She hates injustice and prejudice of any kind. And she loves so deeply, Tyler…. So much so that I don’t doubt she would trade her life, thousand times over, for those she cares about… And I’m lucky to count myself among those she considers family.”

He didn’t say anything for a long time, just mulling her words in silence, until he finally nodded, decisively. “In that case, I’m happy for you. You deserve someone like that in your life.” 

“You could have Aria in your life if you wanted. Me too.” Caroline said, without thinking, only registering her words after she said them. But, for once, she didn’t regret speaking without thinking because she meant what she said.

“I…” he said, staring at her like he couldn’t comprehend her words.

“I told you Aria cares, Tyler. She won’t hesitate to help you… And I might not be able to help you in the same she can but I promise I’ll be there by your side, helping in any way I can. I promise.” She vowed, staring at him earnestly.

A heartbeat passed. And then another. And then Tyler’s face softened, making him look vulnerable in a way she didn’t remember seeing before. “Okay”

“Okay?” she repeated, starting to smile.

“Okay.” He confirmed, returning her smile.

* * *

**& &&//05//&&&**

* * *

‘ _Promise me, Elijah._ ’ Ingrid had begged him once, after everything had been said and done. And after she’d managed to get a similar promise out of everyone else in their family. ‘ _Promise me you won’t kill Rose-Marie if your paths ever cross again, that you would give her the benefit of the doubt._ ’ And even if he’d hated the very idea of it, he’d promised. For her. His little sister. The heart of their family. And the one whose death hunted him – them – even a hundred years later.

And that promise was the only reason why, after he’d arrived at the abandoned mansion in the middle of nowhere – only a couple of hours away from the town where once, a thousand years ago, had stood the village where his family had lived – and he’d laid eyes on Rose-Marie for the first time since that fateful day more than five centuries before, he’d suppressed his instinct to kill her. Oh, he’d wanted to do it. Desperately so. But he’d made a promise to his little sister and he was going to uphold it.

So he’d stilled his hand.

And that gave him enough time to take notice of the fact that Rose-Marie was standing under the sunlight without burning. And that… that shouldn’t be possible. Not when the curse was still in effect.

Stunned, his eyes zeroed on the familiar necklace hanging on her neck, the one that shouldn’t work anymore, no if she’d truly betrayed his family. And as he understood what that meant, he’d to suppress the urge to laugh hysterically. Because, of course, even from beyond her grave, his little sister still found ways to prove him wrong.

Ingrid had been right all along.

“Rose-Marie” he greeted her, far more cordially than he would have only a second ago, masking everything he was feeling behind his usual polite mask.

“Elijah.” She greeted back, her voice cracking slightly due to her nerves. But even as nervous as she was, she still nodded her head in a show of respect he hadn’t expected from her. At least not until he’d seen the necklace.

He hummed, mind racing as he tried to put together the pieces of a puzzle he’d thought solved for the last five centuries. Trying to understand her role in what had happened. “I see you still have the necklace my sister gave you.”

Rose-Marie’s hands immediately went to her neck, clutching a said piece of jewelry protectively against her, like if she was afraid he would take it away. “It was a gift from my lady.”

“Yes.” he agreed, thoughtfully, carefully analyzing the emotions shining in her eyes as he tried to get at the bottom of everything “A reward for the kindness and care you’d shown her. She thought you loyal to her… And yet, not even twenty years after she gave you that necklace, you chose to betray her and our family.”

“I could have never betrayed my lady.” She said, fierce and steadfast and loyal. “I would have died for her.”

And as he stared into her eyes, Elijah found himself believing her, which meant that the fault of everything, besides Katerina, fell sorely on one person.

“…Tell me, does your pet Trevor still uses the daylight ring our family gave him?”

She frowned, clearly thrown by the quick and unexpected turn of the conversation but, after a moment of silence, she answered all the same. “No. He told me he lost it as he helped Katerina escape.”

Elijah snorted derisively, not being able to stop himself. “Of course he did.” He murmured as the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place, showing a picture he should have seen all those centuries before. Rose-Marie's only crime, he understood now, was being too loyal and gullible towards someone she called family. And that was something he could understand perfectly well.

“Though, I’ve to confess to being curious about why, after so many years, you’ve decided to contact me. And here, of all places.” he said, gesturing with barely hidden distaste the old mansion in which they were in. “What you want?”

“I want to negotiate a pardon for me and Trevor, so we don’t have to run anymore… I want our freedom back… Can you grant me that, Elijah?” She petitioned. She was clearly nervous but her eyes were resolute, showing him the kind of loyalty her little sister used to appreciate so much from her. 

He pretended to think about it, pacing around the room as he observed her into consideration. “I can if I see it fit.” He said, speaking in loose terms and not agreeing to anything in detail.

Rose-Marie nodded and started speaking, telling him things about Katerina he’d already known – of course, she hadn’t died in 1864, there were enough reports of her after that year to invalid any credibility to her supposed demise – but he found himself listening attentively all the same, curious as to where the conversation was going. And he was rewarded when she told him she’d found Katerina’s human doppelgänger.

It shouldn’t be possible, he knew. The Petrova Family line had ended. He knew that for a fact. His family had made sure of that. After all, when they’d discover her hand on what had happened, Niklaus, Rebekah, and Kol had been all too happy to kill Katerina’s entire family, as well as every other living person in her village. And Elijah had made personally sure that no one survived that massacre.

A living human doppelgänger shouldn’t be possible. 

But Rose-Marie was convinced – he could see it in her eyes – and she’d spend enough time with Katerina to not make a mistake at identifying her. Thus, there had to be some truth to her words. And the only way that was possible would be if Katerina had had a child before she’d met them. She’d been old enough. And, back then, a child out of wedlock would have been sent away after they were born, as they were perceived as a reason for shame and disgrace. The child would have grown away from the family village, continuing Katerina’s – Tatia’s – bloodline on secret, far away from his family’s radar.

Yes, he could see that.

A human doppelgänger.

One who’s sacrifice could be used to break Niklaus’ curse. 

“Show her to me.” He demanded.

“Elijah, please. I know you’re a man of honor.… Give me your word you’ll grant us our freedom.” Rose-Marie pleaded.

“I give you my word.” He vowed, already knowing what he was going to do. In his mind, he added ‘ _I give you my word that you’ll be forgiven. After today, you’ll be free._ ’

Rose-Marie exhaled, shoulders dropping in visible relief, not understanding the true meaning of his words. After a moment, she nodded and guided him to another part of the old mansion.

There were only two other people in the room. Trevor, whom he expertly ignored for the moment, and a perfect replica of Tatia and Katerina, staring at him with terrified doe eyes.

It was uncanny, how exactly alike the three of them were.

Once, the similitudes between them would have tugged at his heart and soften his disposition towards this human girl who shared the face of his first love. But that wasn’t the case anymore. He’d been fooled by that face once before and his family had been the one to pay the price for his mistake. He would never make that mistake ever again.

Therefore, he stopped paying attention to the girl after he’d confirmed for himself the fact that the girl was indeed human. Instead, he chose to turn towards the two vampires watching from a safe distance. Rose-Marie was smiling slightly, already feeling safe in the belief that everything would be alright for them, but Trevor was shaking in nervousness, making himself as small as possible and trying to avoid looking at him, probably afraid of attracting his attention to himself. 

Sadly for Trevor, Elijah’s attention was already on him. It’d been on him since the moment he’d entered the room, even if he’d appeared focused on the doppelgänger. After all, the time for reckoning had finally come.

“Rose-Marie has negotiated a pardon for the both of you in exchange for the doppelgänger. Did you know that, Trevor?” he asked slowly and deliberately, voice even and deceptively calm, luring him in a false sense of security. For Elijah, justice was sweeter that way, when it was delivered slowly and without warning, after his enemies had fooled themselves into thinking they were safe. 

Elijah might not share his younger siblings' legendary tempers but that didn't mean his feelings were any less deep and vivid than theirs. If anything, it meant he felt things far longer than them. They were quick to anger, to sadness, and to laughter, but as quick as those emotions came, they could go just as swiftly. But Elijah’s case was the complete opposite of them. Feelings didn’t come as easily for him but when they came, they could stay with him for centuries, waiting to be unleashed just under the surface of his perfectly composed mask.

And his fury at Trevor’s betrayal had accompanied him for five centuries.

“I…” Trevor started to say, still not looking at him “Thank you, Elijah. You don’t know what that means to me…. I know I failed you…”

“Yes. You certainly broke your oath towards us quite thoroughly.”

The younger vampire flinched, bowing slightly his head. “And I would live to regret it for the rest of my days.”

Elijah hummed. “I’ve to wonder, what are you going to regret? Helping Katerina to escape? Or the way in which you did it?”

At his words, Trevor’s body started to shake, and, for the first time that day, the younger vampire lifted his head and make eye to eye contact with him. And in those eyes, Elijah saw a growing panic for the direction in which the conversation was going. 

“For all of it.” Trevor finally murmured, looking away once more. “Please accept my forgiveness.”

“See, that’s the complicated thing. Rose-Marie has secured a pardon for you, for letting the doppelgänger escape… But we both know that’s not the extent of your betrayal.” He said, his voice suddenly cold and unforgivable. “For helping Katerina escape, I could have forgiven you in exchange for this human doppelgänger… But I would never forgive the way in which you accomplished that goal.”

Trevor’s face fell, lips quivering as he bowed his head. “Please, Elijah. I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have but I loved her---”

“Stop.” he demanded “I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses. Nothing could justify what you did.”

“What--- What are you talking about?” Rose-Marie asked, her face was contorted in worry and anxiousness as her eyes darted between the two of them.

“Have you never wonder how Katerina managed to escape from our mansion undetected, Rose-Marie?”

“Elijah, please! Don’t! I---”

“How she avoided all the magical protections we put into place? How her absence went undetected for so long?” he continued, staring into Trevor’s eyes, unmoved by his tears. “Well, I’ll tell you how…. Your dear friend Trevor, to whom you’ve been so loyal these five centuries, helped her in her effort to end the life of the person who was in control of all those said magical protections. And they almost succeeded.”

From a logical and strategic point of view, it’d been quite a clever plan. Kill – or almost kill in this case – the witch who was responsible for all the wards and protections of their mansion and surrounding areas so the magical protections would fall. And after that, it’d been only a matter of smuggling Katerina out of their estate without being caught by the guards. And that had been easy enough, considering the fact that Trevor had been, at the time, the captain of said guards. The only problem with that mastermind of a plan was the fact that it involved killing – or attempting to kill – Ingrid.

His little sister. 

“No! No! You---” Rose-Marie cried out, hands clutching her necklace as she stared at Trevor in utter betrayal. 

“Oh, but he did.” he said, flashing towards Trevor and grabbing him by the throat.

For Elijah, it didn’t matter that Ingrid had managed to survive that attempt against her life. Because he could still remember the panic and fear all of them had felt as they stood by her bedside, fearing the worst as they watched her grew weaker with each second that passed. He could still remember how long it’d taken her to completely recover from the entire ordeal. He could still remember all of it and he would never forget.

And Trevor was going to pay with his blood for it.

But first, he focused on the strong among of magic he’d been feeling on Trevor since the moment he’d stepped into the room. He wasn’t as good as feeling and detecting magic as Kol – none of them were – but he’d trained under Ingrid – and later Kol – until he’d mastered the ability in a way no other vampire in existence – except, of course, for his siblings – could. Therefore, after a second, he was able to determine the surge of the magic in the plain collar Trevor was wearing under his clothes. And, by the amount of magic concentrated on the object, it was no doubt a wiccan protection charm, designed to stop the curse for as long as the person was wearing it. 

Without hesitation, he ripped off the collar. 

The effect was instantaneous.

Trevor cried out, scratching his face as the most physical aspect of the curse started to take effect and letters were slowly, and painfully, burned into the skin of his face. In the background, he heard how the doppelganger gasped in obvious fear and Rose-Marie fell to her knees as the truth was revealed right in front of her eyes. But Elijah only had eyes for Trevor, who was moaning in pain as he tried to cover his face and the words on it.

T-R-A-I-T-O-R.

“When you swore yourself to us and accepted the daylight ring we gave you, you entered a magical contract with us.” Elijah announced, eyeing in disgust the marks on Trevor’s face. The proof of his betrayal. “And, in the instant you decided to take action against us, that same daylight ring we gave you would have stopped working and trigger a curse upon you. One that would have followed you for the rest of your days.”

The curse had been created by Ingrid during their second century on this earth, after someone who’d worked for them had betrayed them and sold them to Mikael, but the whole idea behind it had been a work effort from all his siblings. It was a combination of their personal’s desires for retribution against a traitor. Finn’s desire for a punishment that would live as long as the betrayer did. Niklaus’ thirst for constant and inescapable pain. Kol’s idea of using against them the very thing they needed. Rebekah’s demand for retribution that would humiliate them. And Elijah’s desire of taking permanently something from them, something that could not be reversed. All of that combined in a curse made by Ingrid’s magic. A curse designed to be a permanent reminder of the consequences of ever betraying their family.

“But you knew that already, don’t you, Trevor?” Elijah asked, almost amicably, holding the collar in his hand. “After all, you’ve been using this charm to protect yourself from the worst consequences of the curse.” Because the curse’s secondary effect was inescapable, no matter what they did to counterattack it. And that was cursing the person so no daylight jewelry of any kind would ever work on them again.

“Elijah---”

But he wasn’t interested in hearing any more of his pleads and pathetic attempts to justify his actions. Without any kind of warning, he shoved his hand into Trevor’s chest and ripped his heart out. He ignored Rose-Marie’s and the doppelgänger’s cries at his actions. Instead, he stared at the marked and grey dead face of Trevor and felt something settle in his chest. At last, justice had been served. “No one hurts my family and lives.” He declared in a whisper, tossing carelessly the heart away and then cleaning his hand with his handkerchief.

“As promised, from here on out, you’re free, Rose-Marie.” He added to the vampire still weeping on the floor. She didn’t say anything, just continue crying, her whole body shaking with her silent sobs.

Knowing there wasn’t anything else he could say, he turned towards the doppelgänger, who had turned very pale and was staring at him with terrified eyes. “Now, it’s time for the two of us to go.”

“No! Please!” the human girl pleaded, taking a step back from him. “I’m only seventeen! Please don’t take me!”

At her words, he almost rolled his eyes, already completely exasperated. “I don’t really care about your personal wishes or wellbeing.” He admitted, lifting an eyebrow in silent reproach “And if I were you, I would be very cooperative from now on, as you don’t need to be completely unharmed to be useful.” The threat was vague but, after what she’d just seen, it served its purposes well enough judging by the way she all but trembled at his words. “So, what’s going to be?”

The girl stared at him in fear, not saying anything aloud. But behind her fright, he could see something else. Something he’d seen in two other faces just like hers. A hidden cunning focused on creating a way to turn the situation in her favor. And because he’d seen this particular trait of the doppelgängers in action, he wasn’t caught by surprise when the human lifted her chin and opened her mouth again. “What about Katherine?”

“Katerina?” he repeated, confused “What about her?”

“Well, you’ve been after her for centuries, right?” the human said, her voice gaining confidence the more she spoke. “I know where she is and I can tell you… but only if you let me go.”

“Are you trying to bargain with me?” he inquired, disbelieving and amused in equal measures. “Oh, child, you have no idea with whom you’re trying to deal with.” And because he didn’t have any desire of prolonging their conversation more than was necessary, he crossed the distance between in less than a second and grabbed her by her throat, lifting her head to obligate her to look directly into his eyes, trying to enter her mind. But, to his mild-surprise, he found his powers weren’t working on her. 

Shaking his head in self-deprecating – because, if he focused, he could detect the faint but present odor of vervain in the air – for no realizing it sooner, he tore the necklace full of vervain from her neck and tossed it away.

“Hmm, now that’s been corrected…. Let’s see what you know about Katerina.” He said, trying again to enter her mind.

Without the vervain, getting inside her memories was too easy. The girl was human and young, lacking the kind of strength that could help her to try and resist his mental assault, especially when she didn’t have magic at her disposal for protection. And he was not only one of the original vampires, but he’d also learned the arts of mind magic directly from Salazar Slytherin himself. There was no universe in which she could have to protect her mind from him.

He focused his attention on learning everything there was to know about Katerina through the girl’s mind and, soon enough, he was reliving her memories, experiencing them as vividly it as if he’d been there next to her. He watched in silence as the human doppelgänger – Elena – learned about the existence of Katerina and their similitudes, and then he watched her and her little gang of friends as they tried – and failed, time and time again – to outsmart Katerina’s games. And the more he watched, the more Elijah felt his curiosity grew because it was obvious to anyone with some sort of common sense that Katerina wasn’t just playing games out of spite but carrying out some sort of plan.

The only question was, what was Katerina Petrova planning this time?

Before he could think more about it, he found himself walking next to Elena through the hallways of her high school. The girl was – for once – completely alone but, judging by her determined expression, she wouldn’t be for long. After a moment, she entered a classroom without knocking and announced her presence by saying ‘ _I want you to stay away from Caroline.’_

Elijah was so focused on feeling appalled by the complete disregard of manners that it took him a moment to notice the only other person inside the room. And when he did, he felt like all the air of his lungs had been knocked out of him. Because he knew the person sitting behind a small desk on the other side of the classroom. He knew her better than he knew himself.

Even if he hadn’t seen her – smiling and real and alive – in three hundred fifty-eight years.

 _‘You know I’m a member of the faculty, right? Even if I don’t teach you anything, you shouldn’t talk to me like that.’_ she said, her voice light and almost indifferent despite the clear threat to her words. 

At that moment, Elijah couldn’t do anything but stared entranced at her. Stared at those familiar emerald-green eyes – those same eyes he’d seen for the first time more than a millennia ago, when Finn had put her tiny, tiny body in his young arms and told him that she was their family, their little sister, and it was their job to protect her from then on – and realized she looked just like he remembered. From her face to her voice to her mannerisms and even the way her emotions shone in her familiar emerald-green eyes.

It was her.

 _His little sister_.

And as that thought registered on his mind, he found himself quickly making his way towards her, forgetting for a moment that she was just a memory inside the doppelgänger head and he couldn’t interact with her. Forgetting everything but her. Because nothing else mattered but the fact that, after so many years of wait, she was finally alive and in front of him.

“Ingrid” he called her, his voice nothing but a reverent whisper that carried all the emotions that threatened with overcoming him. “It’s me, little sister, your big brother Elijah…. I’m here.”

But despite his words and the pleading in his voice, Ingrid didn’t turn in his direction, didn’t even spare him a glance. She just sat behind her desk, head tilted to the side as she focused all her attention focused on the doppelgänger, who had kept talking to her like he wasn’t there at all.

And as he watched how his little sister kept ignoring him – she’d never been good at ignoring those she cared about – Elijah was forced to remember where he was and what she was.

Ingrid was alive and in front of him.

But she wasn’t there. Not really.

At that moment, she was just a memory inside the doppelgänger’s head.

 _‘---know what you’re doing.’_ The human girl was saying, voice fierce and resolute.

 _‘Oh?’_ His little sister asked amused, mouth curling up in a smile so familiar that his heart ached with it. _‘And according to you, what’s my diabolical plan?’_

_‘I know you’re working with Katherine! And I won’t let you turn Caroline against me!’_

Ingrid threw her head back and laughed, carefree and amused and familiar, and it almost made him weep in a way he hadn’t done in centuries, not since she’d been killed. Because he’d missed her every day for the last three hundred fifty-eight years and now she was just in front of him, alive in this earth once more, but she was still out of his reach and it was torture in a way he had never experience before.

 _‘Thank you, Elena. Really. I needed a good laugh.’_ She murmured after she calmed down, still smiling. 

_‘This isn’t a joke!’_ the girl protested, indignant.

_‘But it is…. And the funniest part is that you haven’t even realized that yet.’_

And after hearing those words, Elijah decided that this was enough, he didn’t need to see more. So he took one last look at his little sister and let go of his control over the doppelgänger’s mind, allowing the memory around him to disappear.

In a blink of the eyes, he found himself again in the real world, staring into the unfocused eyes of the doppelgänger. Without a word, he put some distance between them as his mind and heart battled about what to do next.

Because this – Ingrid being alive once more – changed everything. 

* * *

**& &&//05//&&&**

* * *

“He’s a werewolf? Truly?” Teddy asked, face alight with a kind of childish wonder she hadn’t seen in a while.

“Truly.” Aria confirmed, pressing her lips together to suppress her smile when Teddy’s hair changed color to a bright exciting marigold.

“And he’ll be part of our family? Part of our pack?” her son insisted, so excited that his forehead was almost touching the surface of the mirror.

Aria felt herself melt at her son’s words, finally understanding why this was so important to him. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t activated the werewolf curse, the wolf – through dormant – was still a part of Teddy and he’d always been curious about that part of himself. And it was obvious that he was excited to call family someone else like him, someone who shared and understood that part of him in a way that Aria would never be able to.

“Yes, little wolf... If he accepts, Tyler will be a part of our family.” She promised him, smiling gently.

After all, that was the only way she could reveal herself and the magical world to him without breaking the International Statute of Secrecy.

Tyler was a muggle werewolf without alpha or a pack with some connection to the magical world and that meant he wasn’t allowed to learn the secret of their world. Not when there wasn’t anyone who could respond for his actions if something went wrong. But that changed completely if he was adopted into her family. Because then, he would belong to a magical family and, therefore, he would be a part of the secret.

But to adopt him into her family, she would need to ask him first.

Because, unlike what had happened with Caroline, Aria hadn’t formed an immediate magical guardianship with him the night before. And, the more she thought about it, the surer she became that it was because she hadn’t given him any promises of protection for the future or other things like that. And consequently, Lady Magic hadn’t made a formal bond to recognize her intentions. 

Which meant she needed to use the old fashioned way to become Tyler’s magical guardian. And, as he was seventeen already, she needed his explicit consent to form the bond between them. 

She wasn’t worried, though. He was going to accept, she was sure of it. Not only because she could provide him with the knowledge and tools that he needed to thrive as a werewolf. But also because she knew enough about Tyler to be certain that he wanted a place to belong, that he secretly craved for a family – friends; pack – that would accept him as he was and still choose to stand beside him through thick and thin. 

Judging by his expression, it seemed that Teddy shared her confidence. “Of course he’s going to accept. We’re going to his family and pack!” he proclaimed, grinning from ear to ear “It’s going to be extra-ultra-mega brilliant, mum! Can you believe it? Our family is going to consist of a witch, a wizard, a house-elf, a vampire, and a werewolf! How bloody cool is that?”

“So are you really okay with this?” she pressed on, needing to be completely sure he would be comfortable with welcoming another person into their family, especially when he hadn’t even met Caroline yet. “With me becoming the magical guardian of another person?”

Teddy’s smile softened into something more fond and pure. “Of course, mum… I--- I’m happy to have more people to call family.” He bit his lip, glancing away, and then, shyly, he added “Because… I know that, no matter what, I’m always going to be your son, right?”

“You’ll always be my little wolf, Teddy. My son.” She promised him, fiercely. And, from somewhere deep, deep down, she added another vow. “Always and forever.”

Teddy ducked his head, trying to hide his pleased grin, but his flushed cheeks and his suddenly red hair gave him away. She didn’t say anything though, knowing better than most how important it was to know the unconditional love of family. After a moment, his hair changed back to turquoise and he lifted his head, smiling at her with that carefree grin that reminded her of her father and godfather. “Well, then, I don’t see why you can’t keep adopting more people into the family.” Suddenly, his whole face light up “Maybe we can adopt a baby centaur next, mum! Or a baby goblin! Or… or… or a dragon!! Mum! We should definitely adopt a baby dragon next!”

Aria snorted, barely managing to contain her laughter at the idea of repeating the whole experience with Norbert – or Norberta – ever again. “Keep on dreaming, little wolf.”

“But _mum_!” Teddy protested, pouting rather adorably. Immediately, he launched himself on an amusing and impressive argument on why they should add a baby dragon to their family.

The smile on her face – equal parts amused and loving – accompanied her through the rest of their conversation, as they talked about his classes, then debated which magical places they should take Caroline and Tyler when Teddy visited – in little more than a week – and, after more than two hours of talking, said their goodbyes for the day. 

When the smiling face of her son had disappeared from the surface of the mirror, Aria checked the time, considered the time difference, and decided that it wasn’t too late in England.

“Neville Longbottom.” She called.

The surface of the mirror went foggy for a minute, then another, and then it cleared to reveal the familiar face of her best friend and practically brother, Neville. But what wasn’t familiar was the disgruntled expression on his normally amiable and handsome face. A second later, it morphed into a small, but genuine heartfelt, smile when he saw her. “It’s good to see you, Aria.”

Instead of reciprocating his feeling – because it was really good to see him, even if it’d been only a few days since they’d talked for the last time – she asked what was going on her mind. “Are you alright, Nev?”

“Yeah.” he said, sounding extremely weary as he scrubbed his face with his fist “It has just been a long day.”

She squinted up as she tried to place the background of his face. After a moment, she recognized the place and gaped in shock at him. “Are you--- Are you still in your office in the ministry? At this hour?!”

He nodded, slumping into his chair in clear exhaustion. “Yeah. I’m been trying to finish all my paperwork for the new bill today… But I’m starting to think it’s a lost cause.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were still working.” She apologized, feeling properly contrite. She knew, better than most, how much work it was needed to hold a seat in the Wizengamot and do it well. After all, before she’d been forced to leave vacant her seat on the Wizengamot and trust Neville with her two votes, the two of them had spent hundredths of sleepless nights working together as they learned everything they needed to know to hold the seats of their ancestors. “I’ll call you later.”

“No, no, let’s talk now… I wasn’t lying when I said it was good to see you, Aria.” He insisted “Besides, the paperwork isn’t urgent. Not really. I was just working on it as a distraction.”

She frowned, Neville wasn’t one to normally avoid his problems. At least he wasn’t as long as didn’t involve his grandmother. “What happened with Augusta?”

His lips quirked up in something that would have resembled his usual smile if not for the sardonic and self-deprecating edge of it. “We argued last night. Loudly… About Luna and her incoming nuptials.”

She winced in sympathy. “Oh, Nev.”

“I’m happy for Luna. I am!” he assured her, quickly and fiercely, blue eyes shining with sincerity “I love her. I’ll always love her. She was my first love… But I’m not in love with her. Not anymore.”

“I believe you, Nev.” She said, smiling softly “First loves are… a complicated mess that always left behind a mark.” The two of them shared a look of silent understanding. “And I know you want the best for Luna… What I don’t understand is why you were fighting with your grandmother. I thought Augusta would be thrilled at the news.”

Neville rolled his eyes. “She was. Very much so.” He said, sounding completely exasperated. And with reason too, as Augusta’s dislike for Luna, as a romantic partner for his only grandson, was legendary. “At least until she found out Luna had personally invited me to the ceremony. After that, she was furious. She went on a long rant about how Luna had the nerve of not only breaking my heart so well that I’ve never had another serious relationship after that but to also throw her newfound happiness at my face… And well, I couldn’t stand there and let her insult Luna. So we kind of got into a shouting match by the end of it.”

“Bloody hell” she murmured with feeling, picturing perfectly well how that discussion had gone.

For the longest time when they’d been young, she’d thought that, out of everyone else, Neville and Luna were going to be the ones who would make it to the end. Even after they broke up a year after the war ended, she’d held onto the hope that they would eventually get back together. They just… had have fit together in a way that had been beautiful and almost perfect.

Sadly, the war had irrevocably changed something in them. Afterward, Neville had decided to not pursue his old dream of becoming a herbologist, and instead, he’d focused all his attention on his duties as Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, wanting to use the political and financial power of his family to help create a better future for their country. In contrast, Luna had wanted nothing more than be free of responsibilities, so she’d decided to travel the world and become a magizoologist. And that clash in their dreams had forced them to eventually break up, even when they were still very much in love with the other.

It’d been a hard lesson for Neville, to understand that sometimes love wasn’t enough. So much so that it’d taken him years to talk about Luna without a mix of longing and regret. And it’d taken him even longer to get completely over her. Even then, almost a decade later, he still chose to remain single.

“And even knowing all the drama that’s going to cause with Augusta, do you still want to go?” she asked after a moment, already knowing his answer.

“Yeah.” He confirmed, smiling with all the honesty in the world “She’s my friend. I want to be there for her on her special day.”

“I know I’ve said this before to you, Nev, but, someday, you’re going to meet someone as special as you, and you’re going to be very happy with them.” She promised him, seriously. Because someone as good as he deserved nothing but all the happiness in the world.

Her words caused him to smile in innocent shyness. And, for a moment, he almost looked like the timid and shy kid she’d met in the train to Hogwarts all those years ago. He coughed, embarrassed, and tried to redirect the conversation. “Well, that’s enough about me…. Why don’t you tell me the reason why you called me?”

She gasped dramatically, pretending to look offended. “Wanting to talk to my best friend isn’t reason enough?”

“This late? No.” he replied, lifting an eyebrow in exasperation “You called me for a reason. So why don’t we skip right to it?”

“You’re not fun.” At his expectant expression, she sighed. “Fine, fine, be that way… I wanted to know if you’re still in contact with that shady potion master, you know, the one who’s perfect at his work and with not asking questions.”

“Sure, our greenhouses provide him with most of his ingredients.” He paused, suddenly looking at her much more intently. “But what potion do you want to buy?”

“Wolfsbane” she said, watching how his eyes grew as wide as plates. “I’m going to need a steady supply for the next few years at least.”

Neville groaned. “Merlin, in what trouble have you gotten yourself into now?”

“Hey! I’ve you know that trouble is the one that finds me---”

“That’s what you always say.” He said, exasperated. “Okay, start explaining, and don’t leave anything out.”

And so she did.

* * *

**& &&//05//&&&**

* * *

Elijah came back to life well into the night, still stuck into a wall with the stake one of the doppelgänger’s vampire protectors had used to stab him in the heart. With a grimace of shame – because it was downright humiliating to be bested by two baby vampires and a human – he pulled out the stake and throw it away.

He was weak. Painfully so. But that was to be expected, as coming back to life always took a lot of their energy. Fortunately, it was something that would be fixed as soon as he drank some blood.

For a moment, as he stood in the old and abandoned mansion, he contemplated the options ahead of him after everything that he’d learned that day. Even if, deep down, he already knew what choice he would take. It was, after all, the only thing he could do now that he knew his little sister walked in the land of the living once more.

With a determinate nod, he lifted his left hand, where, in his middle finger, he carried the Mikaelson Family ring and touched the lapis-lazuli stone in its center five consecutive times. “Sanctuary” he intoned, saying the word in his native tongue, ancient Viking.

Instantly, he felt the pull on his naval, and then he was yanked through space as the portkey took him to the safest place on earth for him and his siblings. A second later, he found himself standing in the familiar foyer of the Mikaelson’s mansion in Copenhagen, Denmark, which Ingrid had turned into a magical safe house for them more than five centuries before.

And even with how everything had changed in their family after her death, this house was the only place on the earth that his family considered neutral – and maybe even sacred – ground. 

A pop alerted him of the fact that he wasn’t alone anymore and he turned around in time to see Polly, the only house-elf still bonded to his family, get teary-eyed at the sight of him. Her aging face breaking into a wide grin and her hands played with the hem of her little dress, which was beautifully decorated with their family emblem. “Master Elijah!” she greeted, bowing until the tip of her nose was touching the floor. “You’re back! Polly is so happy to see you!”

Elijah smiled, fond, as he knelt in front of her and touched her cheek with gentle hands. “It’s good to see you too, Polly. I’ve missed you.”

Polly had been working for them for more than six centuries and she’d proven herself, time and time again, as an unavailable and extremely loyal part of the family. Even now that they didn’t stay together as a family, she’d worked diligently to take care of all the family’s properties still in use – besides taking care of this mansion, which was her main residency – and also tending to the special needs of any of them could have at any particular time. And because he didn’t like to overwork her, he tried to call her to ask her for something as little as possible.

But, after some months without seeing her, it was really good to be in her familiar presence.

“Polly will get Master Elijah’s room ready right away!” the elf promised, still beaming at him. “And she will prepare him a welcome feast!”

“Thank you, Polly.” He paused, debating internally, and then added “Please, prepare the rest of the rooms… I’m going to send the call.”

The elf gasped, even more wide-eyed than when she’d seen him first, and then she started to nod furiously. “Polly will take care of everything!” she vowed and popped away immediately.

With a sigh, Elijah got to his feet and made his way to the family study. The double doors of the room were closed and he could felt the powerful magic that resided on them, adding even more layers of protection to the room that held some of their most valuable artifacts. Carefully, he put his left hand on the center of the double doors and he felt a brief pulse of magic before the rooms opened to him in a silent welcome.

Quickly, he walked towards the magnificent round table that stood in the center of the room with six chairs around it, each one with a name beautifully carved in the back. The surface of the table was perfectly smooth, except for an area in the very middle of it, where the Mikaelson family emblem was carved. And, if not for the magic he could felt on it, it would pass as nothing but pretty decoration.

It’d been more than forty years since the last time a call had been sent. The last time, it’d been just as the First War of Voldemort on Great Britain started to gain momentum and the vampire race had been approached by both sides for alliances. And the call had been sent to take a decision on the matter. They would have never supported Voldemort, especially not when Ingrid herself had been a muggleborn, and supporting him would have been an insult to her memory. But the Light side, led by Dumbledore, had not been any more appealing. And so, in the end, they’d chosen neutrality. The vampire race would keep itself out of the war.

But that had been a mistake. As it’d allowed Voldemort to attack the Potters and, as a result, his family had lost all contact with the last descendant of the Peverell family.

Elijah shook his head. None of that mattered. Not anymore. With a decisive nod, he touched the emblem with his ring, said in his native tongue “Always and forever” and felt his ring burn for a moment on his finger.

A second later, one by one, all the names, except for one, carved on the back of the chairs light up, signaling that the call had been sent.

That done, Elijah took his respective seat, chuckling a little when, not a moment later, a warm and large cup of blood appeared in front of him. “Thank you, Polly.” he said as he took the cup in his hands, knowing she would know he was thanking her even if she wasn’t physically present in the room.

He was almost finishing drinking the blood, feeling infinitely better already, when the very same air around him seemed to shift and, a moment later, four figures appeared in their respective seats around the table.

“Well, I hope you’ve got a good explanation for sending the call, Elijah.” Rebekah said, sounding haughty and annoyed in equal measures “Because I was in the middle of something.”

“Did the call interrupted your shopping, sister?” Kol taunted, smirking in clear mischief “Or maybe it stopped you from banging some poor unsuspecting sod?”

“Enough, Kol!” Finn reprimanded, already sounding exasperated with their antics. “We’ve more important things to talk about. Starting with an explanation from Elijah of why he decided to send the call.”

After Finn finished speaking, he, along with his two youngest siblings turned towards Elijah, their expressions expectant. But Elijah had only eyes for the sibling who had remained uncharacteristically silent. And, as if he was reading his thoughts, Niklaus lifted an eyebrow in a silent demand for an explanation from his seat at his right. 

Elijah took as a fortifying breath before meeting Niklaus’ eyes with his own, knowing he owned it to this brother to say the next words while looking directly at his eyes, so he would know he wasn’t saying any lies.

“It has finally happened. Ingrid has been reborn… She’s alive once more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....and here it is!! I've been waiting for this revelation since the prologue I think. All the originals are awake! Living separately in different corners of the world, but awake. You'll know more about it in the next chapter but this is for now.  
> Please leave a comment and tell me what you think about it!  
> Ps. I've been thinking about side pairings - because the main focus of this story would always be Niklaus and Aria - and I want your opinions on who should end up with whom. I'm making no promises because I've two pairings that were part of my original idea for this story, but I would like to know your thoughts on this matter.


	7. The Matters of Trust are a Complicated Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m the worst for the delay, I know. But, in my defense, I was planning on updating this for Christmas but, well, covid-19 is bitch that likes to upset plans. So, anyway, it’s here and it’s almost as long as the previous chapter.   
> But, before you read, I just wanted to tell you that I changed the dates of the flashbacks/dreams in chapters II, IV, and V. It doesn’t alter anything in the story but I did to keep faithful to the date of birth of Katerina (Thank you, Daughter of Trickery, for pointing it out).   
> Anyway, as always, a thousand and one huge thank you for your comments, subscribers, and bookmarks. It means the world to me, and also keeps me motivated to continue writing this story. So, I’ll hope you like it!  
> P.S. I know that we’re a month into 2021 and things aren’t exactly becoming that much better but let’s hope this year surprises us for the better!

#  **CHAPTER VI**

**THE MATTERS OF TRUST ARE A COMPLICATED THING**

**_England, 1473 AD_ **

_Awareness came back to Ingrid in small, fractured pieces._

_First, it came with unrecognizable sounds that went away as quickly as they’d came. Then – who knows how long after that – it came when her mind registered the fact that there were people around her – a lot of them – and even though she’d no idea what they were saying or who they were, she was sure that they were talking about her. She tried to move, to attack, to do anything, but she was unable to even open her eyes before the darkness claimed her once again._

_And then, at some point while she was still trapped in a sea of endless darkness, came with the pain. So, so much pain. If she’d to describe it, Ingrid would have said it felt like every part of her body – including her magical core – had been lit on fire. It hurt. Too much. Too deeply. And in a way she hadn’t experienced before. It almost felt like something was trying to tear her apart from the inside out, making the very essence of her being bled out._

_Distantly, Ingrid was aware of the fact that she was screaming – maybe even pleading for the pain to stop – but nobody seemed to hear her. So Ingrid kept screaming. She did it again and again and again as the pain increased, consuming her whole. And just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, the darkness welcome her in its arms once more._

_When she finally regained proper consciousness, Ingrid opened her eyes and found herself lying on the ground of a barely illuminated little room she had never seen before in her life. Dazed, wobbly and still feeling how her body ached with the phantom pain of something she couldn't quite remember, Ingrid lifted her head, trying to see more clearly the place she was in, and realized four things almost instantly._

_One, she was a prisoner. She wasn’t inside a room as she’d first thought but instead she was trapped inside a dark and stinky dungeon._

_Two, there was a good chance that her captors were wiccans. Or at least they were being aided by a powerful wiccan. Otherwise there wasn’t a good explanation on how they’d obtained the spelled shackles that were binding her from her wrists and ankles to the wall behind her back._

_Three, her captors were not amateurs. They’d took away not only her two wands but also the knife she hid under her skirt and her two rings. Which was a real shame, as those three objects had been carefully spelled with a lot of surprises for situations like this one. And, without them, she’d been left not only weaponless but also without any means to escape, contact her family or even alert them of her current location._

_Four, and the most worryingly, she was suffering from a very, very severe case of magical exhaustion._

_Honestly, taking in consideration how depleted and hurt her magical core felt, Ingrid was almost surprised to be awake. Or even alive at all. Because, as far as she knew, and with the notable exception of the time her aunt Esther had channeled her to fuel the ritual that had turned her family into vampires – and that occasion didn’t count for glaringly obvious reasons – wand-wielders were not supposed to survive after a case of magical exhaustion this severe._

_And, to make matters even worst, she’d no idea how long she’d been unconscious. Or even how she’d had ended up in that estate._

_Frowning, Ingrid tried to remember her last clear memory. But her efforts only served to worsen her headache, making her painfully aware of the fact that her mental shields had crumbled due to her magical exhaustion, and causing her memories to be in completely disarray inside her mind. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain she knew was coming, as she tried to reconstruct her mental shields. And even if occlumency didn’t require an active use of magic, it still hurt. Much more than she’d anticipated, so much so that she was left gasping for breath as a result of her exertion. But, after a long, long moment, she was able to rise her shields and organize her mind once more. That done, she focused on pushing most of her physical pain behind her barriers. Her body and magical core were still extremely hurt but, thanks to her shields, she was only aware of an echo of it._

_And only when all that had been done, she was capable of examining her memories and recall how she’d ended up in that particular situation._

_Rebekah and Ingrid had been visiting the orphanage in the village near their castle, as they did every month without fault, bringing food and other supplies for the children. At some point, she remembered that a child – no older than ten – had approached her and asked for her help to cure his mother’s illness. The request hadn’t been rare, as her abilities were widely known across the village, so she’d waved away her sister’s offer for company and followed the child to a little house in the outskirts of the village. But the moment she’d set foot inside the property, she’d been able to feel the dark and powerful magical protections – made by wiccan magic – that covered every inch of the house and she’d known something was completely wrong. Sadly, before she could react, she'd been attacked for behind and knocked unconscious._

_After that, she could only remember darkness._

_Darkness and pain._

_She groaned, loudly, closing her eyes in shame and despair. Dear Merlin and Morgana, after everything she’d gone through, she really should have seen that trap for what it was. But instead, she’d allowed herself to be blinded by one of her biggest weakness and followed the child like a lamb to a slaughter. It was pathetic._

_“A-are… you al-alright? You h-have been sleeping f-for days.”_

_The voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper but, in the silence of the dungeon, Ingrid was able to hear it loud and clear. Surprised, she turned around, trying to see anything beyond blackness that covered almost every corner. As she squinted, she was able to see a pair of clear green eyes, belonging to the figure of a woman, on the other end of the cell._

_Another prisoner like her, judging by her chains._

_No, she realized after a moment of careful observation, not exactly like her. Because the woman was actually a vampire on the brink of complete desiccation. And, the more she paid attention, the more sure Ingrid become that that their captors were feeding the vampire with enough blood to make sure she remained conscious and aware of everything that happened to her but without any force to move or defend herself._

_She was certain of that because she’d seen another vampire in a similar condition thanks to Finn._

_Her oldest brother had one of the kindest souls she’d ever seen and because of that, after his turning, he’d been unable to cope with the most violent side of his vampire nature. In those early years, they had all seen how he’d started to withdraw into himself as the blood on his hands grew. At least it’d been that way until Salazar Slytherin had taught him how to use his mental shields to distance himself, and his emotions, from the rest of the world. As a result, the only ones Finn truly cared about were his siblings. And for them, he was capable of anything. Even if that meant he had to use the ruthless side that he normally hid behind all his sealed mental barriers._

_The first time she’d truly seen that side of him had been when their family had encountered the brotherhood of the five. Back then, after everything had been said and done, their family had discussed the fate of Alexander, the only one who had remained alive. If only barely._

_‘He needs to die like the others!’ Nik had spat. And Rebekah, silently crying in Ingrid’s arms, had flinched and close her eyes, knowing there was nothing she could say that would change her lover’s fate. Not after his terrible betrayal._

_Finn had took one look at Rebekah’s face and made the decision for all of them. ‘No.’ he’d said, taking them all by surprise ‘Alexander doesn’t deserve the sweet relief of death. He needs to pay, to experience that which he hates the most.’ Without warning, he’d fed the hunter his blood and then promptly snapped his neck. ‘And he will do so for all eternity.’_

_Her oldest brother had kept his word._

_He’d kept Alexander as their prisoner for decades after that, feeding him with enough blood to make sure he felt the pain caused by the torture that all of them – eventually even Rebekah – had inflicted on him at some point or another, but Finn had made sure that the amount of blood Alexander drank was insufficient to make him strong enough to defend himself. And so, Alexander had lived, trapped inside his mind and body for years and years, always on the precipice of complete desiccation, aware of the pain and suffering his body was going through but unable to do anything about it._

_His only escape had been death._

_And he’d only died because they’d been betrayed and sold out to Mikael, who had raided their mansion and, after failing to capture them, had decided to burn it down to the ground. And, unknowingly, he'd burned Alexander to death alongside with it._

_But, even centuries later, Ingrid could distantly remember the exact condition in which Alexander had lived as their prisoner. And the vampire in front of her was in an almost identical state._

_“Hello there” Ingrid found herself saying, her voice sounding raspy and hoarse even to her own ears, never mind a vampire’s “What’s your name?”_

_The vampire made a sound that could be passed as a surprised huff. “Rose-Marie”_

_“Hello Rose-Marie. I’m Ingrid.” She said, trying to smile despite their circumstances “I would like to say that it’s a pleasure to meet you but… well, our currents circumstances are anything but pleasurable.”_

_Rose-Marie made a sound that could be passed as a snort, quickly followed for a long and hesitant silence. “Y-you are not scared… of me? O-of what I am?”_

_It was Ingrid’s turn to snort. “Why should I? My entire family is composed by vampires. And I love them very, very much.”_

_“Your fa-family?” Rose-Marie asked, her clear green eyes – the only thing on her body that had remained untouched by the desiccation – completely focused on her “That is n-not po-possible. Y-you are h-human!”_

_“Actually, I’m a witch. A w---”_

_“Ha! A witch, she says”_

_The unexpected new voice startled them both, making them turn around. The newcomer stood tall and proud, sneering at her from the other side of the bars on their cell, as he purposely let loose his dark and powerful wiccan magic in an obvious display of power. At the other side of the cell, Rose-Marie let out a scared whimper and made herself as small as possible in her corner. “Is that what you tell yourself? That you are a witch? Because it’s not true. You’re nothing but an abomination to this world, Ingrid Mikaelson.”_

_Ingrid ignored the fact that she was dirty, chained, and at his mercy, and smirked at him with all the haughtiness she could muster, lifting her chin defiantly as she stared at him down. “Well, it seems you have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am but I don't have the faintest idea of who you could possibly be.”_

_The warlock’s sneer became even more pronounced when he sent her a look full of superiority. “I’m Edwin Akerley, the high warlock of the Akerley coven.”_

_At once, several pieces of the puzzled fell into place._

_Suddenly, she knew why she was suffering from such a severe case of magical exhaustion, and she also got a fairly good idea of why Rose-Marie was in her current condition. “The Akerley coven?” she repeated, curling her lips in disgust as she remember all the worrying and terrible whispers that had been growing for the last decade about that particular coven. “Oh, I think I remember something about you… Wasn’t your coven the one that was repudiate by Mother Nature and as a result started to draw power from other, more powerful, magical beings?” Seeing his constipated face, she couldn’t help but add “To be so weak and feeble that you need to channel the powers of others, how pathetic!”_

_If the whispers had been right – and everything seemed to point that way – the Akerley coven channeled magic from any living being with it. From wand-wielders, werewolves, vampires, goblins, and whatever else they could find. Because, as long as the being possessed magic inside of them, they were able to draw magic from them until the point of death. And, for what she knew, with the exception of the vampires who could be re-used an infinite number of times as long as they weren’t completely desiccated, no other magical being could survive the experience._

_As it was, it was a wonder how she hadn’t died the first time they’d channeled her magic._

_“Be silent!” Edwin spat, gripping the bars on the cell “You’ve no right to talk about me and mine that way. Not when your very existence is an aberration to this world.”_

_She threw her head back and laughed, high and mocking. “Is that so? Then explain to me why you used the magic of this aberration to become more powerful” she taunted, smirking at the flash of discomfort that crossed his face. “It must kill you inside, must not? To be aware of the fact that your powers, the very thing that made you special, come from someone you loathe so much… Maybe you even hate yourself. After all, you and I both know that if you didn’t channeled the powers of others, you would be nothing but a pathetic and weak excuse of a warlock.”_

_She knew almost instantly that she’d pushed too far. And had all but a second to brace herself for the pain before the warlock uttered a single word and the shackles around her wrists and ankles started to burn her skin. It hurt. A lot. And so she closed her eyes and bit her lips until they bled, refusing to give him the satisfaction of her screams. She could handle this – she chanted to herself in her mind – The pain was immeasurable but nowhere near the cruciatus curse. She could handle it. She could._

_From what seemed like far away, she heard Rose-Marie pleading in her defense. “S-stop! Please, milord, s-stop!” But Edwin only laughed at her words. Only after what seemed like a small eternity, he canceled the spell and the pain finally stopped._

_Free of the curse, she was able to open her eyes and let out a long exhale, as she wrestled with her own body to stop her trembling._

_“Look at you! The great immortal witch, trembling at my mercy!” he smirked cruelly “Without your precious powers, you’re nothing! You’ve got no way to defend yourself…. And when the moon is full in two days, you’ll be dead and your immortality will be ours!”_

_Ah, so that was what they were really after._

_Now it made sense why they hadn’t killed her right away. If they truly thought there was a ritual capable of stealing her so called immortality, it would need to be under the full moon to guarantee its success. Of course, she knew it wasn’t possible. She’d lived for as long as she had because Death had allowed the creation of the link that connected her life to her family. That link was the true reason her aging process had stopped and it was not something that could be stolen. At least not without Death's blessing._

_It was tempting to laugh, knowing that their little plan was destined to fail no matter what. But she held back the urge and instead stared directly into his eyes, letting the deep of her fury and loathing show in her eyes and face. “Do as you want, Edwin Akerley… But I want you to know that one day, soon enough, all you hold dear in this life will be nothing but blood and ashes. And when that day comes, I will be standing over your dying body, victorious and free of the chains you dared to put on me, and you'll die regretting the day you dared to attack me.”_

_He tried to act as if her words didn’t affect him but she caught the slight flinch on his face. However, after a moment, he composed himself and returned her glare head on. “Pretty little threats, especially coming from someone who is chained to a wall with shackles spelled to stop you from using your magic.... Tell me, how are you supposed to kill me if you’re my prisoner?”_

_“Young wiccans, always so short-sighted” she scoffed, shaking her head “Do you really believe you’re the worst being I’ve ever face? I’ve lived for longer than you can comprehend. I’ve faced stronger, smarter and more powerful foes than you, and I’ve always come out as the victor at the end… You and your little coven are nothing to me.”_

_“And yet you’re in chains before me, your powers are blocked and soon you will be dead.” He vowed, viciously. Without another word, he left in a huff, leaving them alone in the darkness once more._

_She scowled at his back, more furious than she’d been in decades. And she knew, with a deep certainty, that the lives of Edwin Akerley and his coven were already forsaken. Because if they weren't slain by her hand – doubtful, as this was personal now – then her family would make them rue the day they were born._

_“A-are you alright?” Rose-Marie asked, bringing her attention back to her cellmate. “It l-looked like you w-were in s-serious pain.”_

_Ingrid gaped, caught off guard. After being tortured and suffer who-knows how many other horrors, there was no reason for Rose-Marie to care about somebody else. Especially not when she was a vampire and could have easily turned off her emotions. And yet, Rose-Marie had tried to help her when Edwin had been hurting her and now she was even asking about her wellbeing. It was more than a little surprising because it showed her the deep of compassion in Rose-Marie’s heart._

_And, if she was honest, it reminded her a little of Iolanthe – her sweet, darling Iolanthe – and how she, too, had been able to show compassion even in the darkest of times._

_Maybe that was why she felt herself soften considerably towards Rose-Marie._

_“Oh, don’t worry about me. A little pain isn’t going to break me. Not after everything I’ve gone through.” She said sincerely, staring into her eyes. The vampire didn’t say anything, didn’t even smile, but her clear green eyes lightened considerably, and Ingrid counted that as a win. “You know, this actually reminds me of this one time when my brother Kol let himself be captured by an enemy coven for the fun of it. And, of course, we thought the worse when we couldn't find him, so we came to the rescue and….”_

_Almost without realizing it, Ingrid found herself opening up and sharing with Rose-Marie things she normally didn’t talk with anyone who wasn’t family. She told her about some of the shenanigans and crazy adventures her family had gotten through the years. Most of them were funny, even if they involved bloodshed of some kind, and some stories were very serious and solemn. But Rose-Marie seemed to appreciate them all the same, so much so that, eventually, she started to share some of her own stories with her. Soon, Ingrid had learned about Rose-Marie’s love for horses, sweet things and flowers of bright colors. Eventually, she also told her about her human family and how, after she’d been turned against her will, they’d throw out of her house and village._

_She wasn’t sure how long they'd talked, it was impossible to keep track of time in the almost absolute darkness of the dungeon, especially when nobody gave them food or water, but they kept talking regardless of all that, sharing more and more personal stories as the time went by. And, somehow, as their voices turned even hoarser and hunger turned an aching pain impossible to ignore, the hours turned into days._

_At some point, in an effort to distract herself from her growingly weak body, Ingrid found herself listing all the things she wanted to do as soon as they were out of that stinky dungeon. First, she said, she would eat an enormous meal and then, after taking a long bath, she was going to sleep for days in the comfort of her own bed. However, instead of saying anything, Rose-Marie got suddenly quiet, seemingly unsure of what to say._

_“And you? What do you want to do when we’re finally free?” Ingrid prompted, gently._

_“W-what is the po-point of w-wondering about that-t? I-I will die-e here as a p-prisoner.”_

_Ingrid stared at her, mentally debating with herself about what to say next._

_Most people thought caring was an instinct for Ingrid. They saw her – always polite and friendly, even when she was soothing her family’s most violent impulses and forcing them to think with their hearts – and thought that caring was a part of her nature. But it wasn’t. Not really. Maybe if she hadn’t grown been aware of the fact that everyone but those of her blood would hurt her if given the chance. Maybe if the members of her family hadn’t been the only ones who had accepted her, wholeheartedly and implicitly, when she was young, then maybe it would be easier for her to care. But it was too late for maybes. And so, with the exception of those she considered family and children in general – and that was only because they reminded her of Iolanthe and Henrik – she felt nothing but indifference towards the rest of the world despite the pleasant and amicable attitude she always tried to portray._

_Few were those not of her blood who had managed to make her care – truly and honestly care – for them._

_Fewer still those she considered true friends._

_But here was another secret, once someone had managed to make her care for them, she would gave all of herself to make sure they were happy and safe. Her loyalty, once earned, was almost absolute._

_And as impossible as it seemed, in their brief time together, Rose-Marie had managed to make her care for her._

_The vampire had been her only company in this entire ordeal, the only source of any kind of joy and was probably the only reason she’d managed to keep at bay the worst part of her temper so successfully. And she would be dammed if she let her think she was planning on letting her stay a prisoner for a moment longer than necessary._

_“Of course you’ll be free once more soon enough. I’ll make sure of it.” she told her, firmly. At Rose-Marie stunned expression, she added in all seriousness. “I know we haven’t known each other for long but, I promise you, I will free us... And when you get your freedom back, you'll be able to do whatever you wish with your life… No more chains, I promise.”_

_Hesitantly, and shyly, Rose-Marie nodded once, and then confessed to her in a whisper that her biggest wish was riding a horse under the sun once more, like she’d done when she was a human._

_Ingrid nodded, decidedly. “Then that’s what you will do… I shall make you a daylight necklace, something unique and just for you, and then you’ll be able to ride a horse under the sun for however long you want. Your wish will become a reality, I promise you, Rose-Marie.”_

_The vampire didn’t say anything else, changing the subject quickly, but there was a smile, small and real, on her face, and Ingrid knew Rose-Marie was allowing herself to hope, even if it was very little. And for now, that was enough for her._

_It was no long before Edwin, and another unknown warlock, appeared on dungeon. They didn’t bother to say anything to them, opting to focus their attention on opening the little door of their cell with a loud sound that seemed to resonate around them and then marching directly towards her. From her corner, Rose-Marie let out a yell of warning towards her and, from the corner of her eye, she caught her horrified expression as she failed to move her body in her direction. And, if Ingrid wasn’t so focused on what she needed to do, she would have spared more than a second to appreciate the gesture. As it was, she was using all her energy on accomplishing an old and almost forgotten technique that she’d never tried to do before, as the creator had died before he could properly explain her the way to actually do it._

_She had never even tried to try the technique before – because, up until that point, it’d never been necessary – but she’d been thinking about it in the back of her mind since the moment she’d woken up on that dark dungeon and she’d been forced to restore her occlumency shields, so she was as prepared as she could be for the moment they cast a wiccan spell – designed to render her unconscious – in her direction. And so, the moment the spell hit her, she used every bit of skill and magic she had to hide deep behind her mental barriers from the effect of the attack. That way she was safeguarding her consciousness inside her deepest and most unexplored part of her occlumency shields._

_And it worked just as she’d hoped._

_Distantly, there was a part of her that was aware of the fact that her body had gone slack, like a puppet without its strings. And the fact that her captors were removing her from her chains and lifting her from the ground, taking her out of the cell as they ignored Rose-Marie’s cries. That same part was also aware of the path they took out of the house and towards the clearing outside, where at least a dozen of people were reunited, forming a circle under the light of the full moon as they chanted a spell._

_But, for the most part, her sense of self and awareness was locked behind her deepest and strongest mental shields. In that place, there was none of hurt caused by her magical exhaustion, none of the crippling pain of her body, not even hunger or thirst. In that vast and unexplored place, there was only her, free from absolutely everything that chained to reality. And the only reason she didn’t try to explore was because there was something telling her that if she went deeper, she would be forever lost on that part of her mind._

_So, even if was difficult, she tried to focus on the little part of her that was aware of the outside world. She held onto that part of herself and created a path to guide her awareness out of her mental shields until she was able to regain proper control of her body._

_She woke up silently, instantly aware of the fact that she was lying on the ground, of the magic charging the air and the temporal link the coven had formed to her in an effort to channel her powers._

_Ingrid didn’t waste a second._

_She used every little bit of magic she’d at her disposal – from her magical core to the magic in the air – to send a curse to every single of the coven through the temporally like they’d created. And the magic vowed to her demands._

_The members of the Akerley were all blasted away from her._

_Ingrid forced her body to get up, arms already raised as she cast curse after curse before they’d time to fight back. She didn’t stop to think as she fought – because stopping meant giving her body enough time to realize how exhausted she truly was – and so, one second she was sending a cutting curse to the throat of someone, and in the next, she was turning in the opposite direction to send a dark curse designed to melt their organs or lighting someone completely on fire. She became a hurricane of power and destruction – a possessed being with only one goal in mind: kill them all as quickly as possible – and the air in the clearing was soon charged not only with power of her magic but with the smell of the blood of everyone in the Akerley coven, as they fell one by one at her feet._

_It was a bloodbath._

_And she didn’t regret it a single bit._

_She didn’t stop until the only sounds on that clearing came from her. And then, after making double sure that none of them were still alive, she grabbed one of the bodies – the one that still mostly resembled a human body – and made her way back to the house._

_Now that she wasn’t fighting, she was perfectly aware of how tired her body was, how much rest she needed before she would be healthy again. But she pushed through her fatigue as she made her way back to the dungeon, knowing that the moment she allowed herself to rest, she would end up unconscious for a long, long time. So she kept walking, dragging the heavy body with her – and probably leaving behind a trail of blood – until she reached the same dungeon where she’d been kept prisoner until a couple of hours before._

_On her corner, still chained and almost completely desiccated, Rose-Marie stared at her, wide-eyed and speechless, as Ingrid dropped the body in front of her and used what little magic she’d left to free the vampire from her chains. “There” she announced with a tired grin, letting herself fall onto the ground “Now you’re finally free.”_

_Black spots started to appear in her vision while she heard Rose-Marie feed from the dead body, so she opened her mouth to tell the vampire of this but didn’t manage to even produce a sound, as the tiredness of her body and mind seemed to pull her down onto the darkness._

_The last thing she was aware of was the tears that fell onto her face as the vampire pulled her head onto her lap and cried. “Thank you… You’ve no idea… Thank you, milady…”_

_And then she knew no more for a long while._

* * *

**& &&//06//&&&**

* * *

A moment of utter silence followed his words. 

_…Five… Four… Thee… Two… One…_

His body was pushed out of his chair and onto the wall that was twenty eight feet away, impacting it with a loud bang that snapped everyone else to their feet, bodies tensed and ready to intervene. And, despite the fact that he was being almost choked by the hand on his neck, Elijah forced his body to remain relaxed as he calmly stared at the turbulent eyes of Niklaus. 

After all, his brother’s reaction hadn’t been unexpected. If anything, it was a little too predictable.

“What did you just say?!” Niklaus snarled, pushing his face until there was almost no space between them. From so close, it was impossible to miss the kaleidoscope of emotions shining on his brother's green-blue eyes. Happiness at the news, certainly. Fear at the possibility of not being true, for sure. And there was no denying the war between the hope Elijah's words had brought and the paranoia and pessimism that had followed his footsteps for centuries. But there was something else there, something wild and deep that told him Niklaus was barely holding together his emotions.

One wrong word and his brother would probably go on a rampage.

“Ingrid is alive, brother” Elijah said, trying to sound as gentle as possible “She has finally reborn.”

The rest of his siblings moved in their direction, their stunned expressions morphing into cautious joy as they closed ranks around them, listening to them in absolute silence, probably sensing, like Elijah, that Niklaus was the one who needed the most delicate handling at the moment. 

“I saw her with my own eyes” he continued explaining, pausing for a second as he considered the pros and cons of what to say next. Then, softly, almost reluctantly, he added “Well, I saw her on the memories of another person… The Petrova doppelgänger. A human.”

There was a heavy pause, as they all assimilated that extra piece of news, and then “I want to see your memories, Elijah.” Niklaus demanded in a low growl, his almost calm tone in contrast with the hand that was squeezing more painfully his neck. “I want to see _her_.”

“Of course, brother… But you’ve to let me go first.” Elijah bluntly said, lifting an eyebrow in a silent demand for him to comply his wishes. Despite his sympathy for Niklaus’ particular position, Elijah knew that letting his brother in his head, so he could see his memories directly, would mean that the rest of his siblings would demand the same, and he had no intention of giving them all a free pass behind his mental shields.

At his words, Niklaus glared defiantly at him for a moment but then, seeing his unperturbed expression, he ended up conceding with a single nod. Grudgingly, he released him and made his way back to his seat. 

That seemed to be an unspoken cue for the rest of his siblings because Rebekah and Finn immediately copied Niklaus’ actions and retook their seats in silence. And Kol flashed towards one of the many cabinets, took out their pensieve, and then put it on the center of their round table. “It’s ready to use, Elijah” he announced after touching the rune that activated it.

Unlike the ordinary pensieve, designed to be used by wand-wielders, theirs had been crafted especially for magical races who didn’t use wands. It was very rare and ten times more expensive than the ordinary one but that hadn’t been a problem for them. After all, his family had always prided itself on having only the best, especially when it came to magical artifacts as useful as this one.

Elijah marched towards the table and put both of his hands on the pensieve. Instantly, he felt how the magic in the artifact started to pull at his memories, so he closed his eyes and concentrated on what had happened early that day. He relived everything that had occurred since the moment he'd arrived at the abandoned mansion, not leaving anything out, not even his fight – and shameful defeat – with the two vampires who acted as the protectors of the human doppelgänger. When it was finally over, he opened his eyes in time to see how the artifact lighted-up with the familiar silvery substance to signal that the memories had been copied and transferred successfully.

Satisfied, Elijah took a couple of steps back as his siblings crowded around the artifact, not wasting a moment longer than necessary to submerge themselves in the memories on it. And because the memories only covered a couple of hours at most, it didn’t take very long before they were all back on the real world.

“It’s true… She’s really alive. Our sister is back---”

“How dare that stupid cow to threaten our sister---”

“Our little sister looked quite happy, didn’t she---”

“We’ve to go to her. Immediately…. We can’t waste any more time--”

“No.” He declared firmly, effectively silencing them all “We can’t go to her. Not yet.”

At once, his siblings turned towards him, their expressions ranging from surprise to murderous rage. There was no mistake in the promise of unmeasurable pain and bloodshed on some of their eyes – Niklaus especially – but Elijah remained unmoved. After all, he needed to remain calm and focused if their family was to succeed.

“What do you mean no?!” Rebekah demanded, indignation and fury coating every single one of her words “Our sister is out there! She’s surrounded by a new doppelgänger whore and her stupid band of friends, and you want us to do nothing?!”

“Our little sister needs us, Elijah!” Finn argued, lips pursed with barely controlled ire “She looks young, probably barely out of school… And that means she won’t know how to defend herself, not against so many of them… We’re her family, it's our duty to protect her!”

“ _Why_?” Niklaus demanded in a low and threatening growl as he flashed towards him. “Why would you---”

A loud scoff cut Niklaus mid-rant. Surprised, they all turned around to stare at Kol. His little brother was shaking his head in clear exasperation as he sneered mockingly at them with an echoed of his usual smirk. “Did you even hear yourselves? My god, you need to stop and think for a moment! Ingrid is alive, yes. But she clearly doesn’t remember her old life, or she would have reacted differently to the new doppelgänger.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Niklaus hissed, quickly changing the target to his ire as he menacingly advanced towards their little brother “Tatia and Katerina were barely relevant to her. Of course their doppelganger won't make her remember. They weren’t as important to Ingrid as us. She will remember us…” _She will remember me_ , he didn’t say, but they all heard it loud and clear.

“For the love of---” Kol cut himself, visibly trying to calm his temper “What do you think is going to happen, Nik? That she will see you, the great love of her life, and suddenly all her past memories will come back? ….Do you really think _love_ works that way?”

Elijah understood what was going to happen a split of a second before it happened, but he still reacted too late to stop Niklaus from throwing himself at Kol. Luckily, Finn was faster than him and managed to trap their brother in his arms. “Enough, Niklaus!” his older brother demanded after seeing how Niklaus kept fighting him in an effort to break free. “We gain nothing in fighting among ourselves!”

“Did you hear what he just say?!” Niklaus snarled outraged, glaring viciously at their little brother.

“I didn't say anything that wasn't true, Nik!” Kol argued, glaring right back at him. “Besides, do you need me to remind you that you weren't the only one who lost her?”

“It’s not the same!” he spat “She's the love of my life! My wife!”

“And she's our sister! She was family before anything else!” Something cracked in Kol’s expression as he added almost in a whisper “She's practically my twin sister, Nik. I’ve loved her all my life... But you don’t see me rushing out of here believing that she will remember me just because of that... Love is not a magical cure for memory loss, you’ve to know that.”

Niklaus’ fury died out after hearing that, his face twisting in pain as he was unable to refute what Kol had said. And the rest of them stood frozen in their spots, absorbing the news in a silence filled with tension and unspoken words. But then, suddenly, Rebekah was moving, planting herself in the middle of them with a fierce expression. “But that’s impossible… After all, you told us Ingrid was going to be reborn with her memories.” She accused to Kol, scowling “We asked you before we did the ritual and you said the reincarnation progress wasn’t going to affect her memories.”

“And that still holds true, but it doesn't mean she will remember us.”

“As per usual, you are not making any sense, brother.”

Kol rolled his eyes at Finn’s words, visibly exasperated. But, after a moment, he regained control of his temper and sighed. “Fine, how about this… For most, if you talk about memory and soul, you’re talking about two completely different things. Memory is something that's linked to the mind of the physical body, and a soul is something that exists beyond all planes of existence.... But that changes if the particular individual is touched by magic in a significant way because then the soul and the magic of the individual become one. And magic always creates an imprint of the individual that wields it."

“An imprint” Elijah mused in consideration, as he analyzed everything his brother had said at a fast pace. “And that imprint carries an echo of the past memories of the individual.”

“Exactly” Kol grinned, nodding at his words “And Ingrid’s case is even more peculiar because she lived for almost seven centuries and she was an occlumency master…. So her memories were definitely a part of her magic and, therefore, a part of her soul…”

“But if that’s the case then---”

“She was reborn exactly as she was in her past life.” Kol reminded them with a clear and pointed emphasis “The ritual I created… What we did… It had never been attempted before, not in that way. And after I review my notes on everything, I came to the conclusion that there were only two possible outcomes for her memories. One, she could have been born with active access to all her past memories since the beginning, which clearly isn’t the case… Or her past memories would have been locked in the deepest part of her mind, where she could never actively and consciously reach them.”

“But if her past memories are there, then there’s a way to make her remember” Niklaus insisted, he'd calmed enough that Finn had finally released him but their older brother remained close in case he needed to intervene again.

“Of course… But it won’t be easy. And she will need to trust us with the secrets of her mind, implicitly and wholeheartedly, before we can try to do anything. Otherwise, we can end up ravaging her mind to the point of no repair.”

Niklaus took a step back as if he’d been struck. “I would never do that to her… I would carve my heart out with my bare hands before I would even contemplate the idea of harming her in such a way.”

“Then you understand why I find myself, surprisingly, in agreement with Elijah on this. We can’t rush out of here to see her…. At least not without some sort of plan.”

To Elijah’s relief, the rest of his siblings nodded as they all retook their seats like the civilized people they were supposed to be. As he took his seat, he allowed himself a small and private smile, knowing the worst was over. Now that everyone was on the same page on the matter – which was pretty rare in itself, as it hadn’t happened in decades – they could start to plan how to go forward.

“What I don’t understand is why you didn’t want to go after Ingrid right away, Elijah” Finn commented, pinning him down with a narrowed stare. “You didn’t know all this stuff about her past memories, so why….?”

“Mostly because it was obvious she doesn't have her past memories and I thought it would be prudent if everyone understood that before we came face to face with her.” Elijah answered, not bothering to mention that his motivation had been based on the fact that he’d wanted to protect their feelings, as he’d wanted his siblings – and perhaps himself as well – to be prepared before any encounter. “But also because there’s something that doesn’t make sense about Ingrid’s presence in Mystic Falls”

“It’s a muggle town.” Niklaus understood, nodding in consideration.

“Exactly” he agreed.

As Finn had pointed out, their sister looked barely out of school. And he couldn’t think of a single reason why a recent Hogwarts – maybe Ilvermorny? – graduated had decided to turn her back on her society and settle down in a muggle town. Not when the magical world was designed to keep its members as far away as possible from everything related to the non-magical world.

“You think she was reborn without her magic?” Rebekah asked, unsettled by the turn of the conversation.

“Impossible” Kol protested immediately “Her magic is one of the reasons the reincarnation worked. She wouldn’t be alive if she didn’t possess her magic.”

“Maybe she’s hiding from something?” Finn mused, contemplative “Or someone?”

Elijah nodded, as he’d already considered that possibility. “Which bring us to Katerina’s involvement in all this.” And he wasn’t surprised in the slightest when that name was enough to bring frowns and sneers in all of their faces.

“What does that harlot have to with anything?” Rebekah demanded immediately, pursing her lips in disapproval “Our sister would never lower herself to fraternize with her.”

“Maybe not voluntarily”

Finn pursed his lips. “You think Katerina Petrova is somehow manipulating our little sister?”

“It’s a possibility… Otherwise, why is our sister in that town? And why the human doppelgänger thinks she’s allied with her?”

“I can't believe that.” Kol argued immediately. “Even without her memories, our sister is powerful enough to hold her own against Katerina. She would never let herself be controlled in such a way.”

“Maybe but---”

“A vampire under Katerina’s orders is currently seeking me out to make a deal for her life.” Niklaus cut him off, a heavy and furious frown marring his features. 

There was a shocked pause as they all absorbed _that_ piece of news and then…

“What the bleeding hell, Nik---?”

“Why did you waited until now to tell us---?”

“How could you keep this from us---?”

“Enough!” Elijah bellowed, silencing them all. He turned to his right and glared at his brother with all the simmering anger he was feeling. “Niklaus, you’ve ten seconds to start explaining yourself or I will make sure you'll regret it.”

It was clear for all of them that the order rankled on his brother, as he’d never been one to let himself being ordered, not even for them, but the importance of the matter was such that, after a moment, he decided to let it pass. “I didn’t think it was a big deal when it happened… It didn’t even occur to me to think that it could be linked to Ingrid in some way, or I would have sent the call… I promise I haven’t forgotten the vow we all made before we went on our separate ways.” Niklaus assured them.

When all their common causes had been fought and won, and the dust had finally settled after Ingrid’s death, they’d been forced to confront their unwelcome new family reality. As a consequence, they’d ended up clashing among themselves more than ever, even over the simpler of matters. And, as the years came and went, and the cracks in their relationship did nothing but grew, they’d been forced to realize that they all needed a little space between them. So, a century and a half ago, they’d done what, once, they promised to never do and went on their separated ways.

But no before adding a new vow to their original one.

They would stand together, protecting each other as they’d done since they were human, because even if they were separated across oceans and continents, there was nothing more important for them than family. And therefore, they were all bound to answer if one of them sent a call for a family meeting. Furthermore, they were also bound to tell the others if something of particular importance, concerning their family, had come to their attention.

After all, nothing on this earth could break their original vow.

Family above all else.

Always and forever.

Elijah inspected his brother’s expression and found nothing that indicated a deception, so he nodded in acceptance to his words. “Well, then… What does Katerina want?”

“I don’t know for certain as I yet to talk with the vampire under her orders but, knowing Katerina, I would bet the trade involves Ingrid in some way.” Niklaus said, shrugging with forced casualness.

“We need more information then.” Finn summarized. “It’s imperative that you talk with this vampire as soon as possible.”

“That may solve the Katerina problem but it doesn’t gave us enough information about everything else that’s happening on that little town.”

“Well, we've got an obvious source there. After all, didn’t the two of you crossed paths with one of the doppelgänger’s groupies?”

“Yeah, in the twenties… Nothing remarkable happened though, and he doesn't remember if you know what I mean----”

“So, you can’t influence him?”

“Not likely. Especially if he's wrapped around the finger of that whore as those memories indicated..."

"We need to find another source then--”

“But that would mean we’ll have to come out to the spotlight---”

“We are in agreement then?” Elijah asked, interrupting the fast pacing exchange “That we require a carefully crafted plan about the way we'll take to go forward? And that we’ll follow said plan as a family, united once more against everything and everyone that stood on the way?”

The first one to respond was Finn, who nodded solemnly. “We need to stand together as family.”

Rebekah was next. “As long as we get our sister back and we wiped out that blasted Petrova line in the process, you’ll have my whole support.”

Kol grinned, bright and mischievous. “For our sister, I would do anything, you know that.”

Not so surprising, Niklaus was the last to speak. And when he did, he did it with the ghost of a familiar smirk curling on his lips. “I’ve waited more than three centuries to see her face to face once more... I can wait a few more days if it means I'll get to spend the rest of eternity with her.”

“Then it’s time to plan” Elijah announced, lips curled in a pleased smile.

They all exchanged similar smiles at that, full of anticipation and deviousness. And soon enough, his family was doing what they knew to do best.

Plotting to win…

…And to annihilate everything that stood in the path of absolute victory.

* * *

**& &&//06//&&&**

* * *

“....Can I ask you something?” Tyler asked as he changed his sitting position for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. 

They were both sitting on the rug of her music room, and they’d been sitting there for almost an hour as Aria guided Tyler through the first steps of learning the art of occlumency. She’d chosen that room, with its big glass wall connecting to the back garden and modern decoration, because – in her honest and completely unbiased opinion – it was the most relaxing and soothing room in her house. And, honestly, she needed all the help she could get to teach a teenager werewolf with anger issues how to clear his mind. 

“You can ask me anything you want, Tyler.” Aria smiled, trying to sound and look as reassuringly as possible “After all, we’re family now.”

The werewolf smiled at that, a bit shy but mostly pleased.

It’d been three days since Tyler had activated his curse, and two since she’d sat him down and explained everything he needed to know about her real identity, the magical world, and everything that had been going on in Mystic Falls in the last couple of months. And, for the latter, she’d received a little bit of help from Caroline, who had been all too happy to share the specific details of everything that had happened.

To say that Tyler’s reaction had been an explosive bag of emotions would have been an understatement. He’d been awed, humbled, and dumbfounded in equal measures at everything related to the magical world, including her personal role in it. And he’d been beyond touched – and maybe a bit surprised too – at her offer to make him her ward – and, therefore, her family – but he’d hadn’t hesitated to accept, especially after he’d learned that Teddy carried the werewolf gene too. However, for all that, his fury after learning what Damon had done to Caroline and Mason had been an impressive sight to behold. As it was, she was pretty sure that the only reason Tyler hadn’t gone and done something recklessly crazy, like revealing himself as he attacked Damon Salvatore, was because she’d stuck his butt to a chair until he’d calmed down. 

It'd taken a long while though.

Luckily, between Caroline’s reassurances that she was fine now and Aria’s promise that she would never allow something like to happen again, Tyler’s fury had died down. Mostly. Or at least enough for him to be able to focus on something else. Like the ceremony to bond them as magical guardian and ward.

And the day before they’d done just that.

Now, if she focused, she could feel the three tethers that existed on her magical core. Teddy’s was the oldest and strongest; a brilliant and near indestructible bond that tied them together as mother and son. Once, that bound had only existed because they were magical guardian and ward, godmother and godson; but their bond had changed, almost tripling in strength and power, after she’d blood-adopt him. In comparison, her bonds with Caroline and Tyler felt new, as the magic in them was still adapting to the connection that had been created between them. But even then, she could feel how bright and potent they were, and she knew in her heart that those bonds would become incredibly powerful with a little more time and patience.

So when she smiled in encouragement at Tyler, she didn’t do it because she sympathized with his situation or because he was Caroline’s childhood friend, she did it because she looked at him and her magic sang the word ‘ _family_ ’. And she would do anything for her family. 

“It’s just… I’ve been wondering something about Teddy” Tyler started, hesitantly.

“Oh?”

“He looks like you. A lot.” He blurted out in a rush.

“Ah.” She nodded in understanding, already knowing what he was going to ask. She’d been expecting his question since she’d told him the truth about the nature of her relationship with Teddy, especially after he’d seen all the magical photos of the two of them together that she kept on her house. “And you want to know how it's possible if he's only my adopted son.”

Tyler nodded, more relaxed after not seeing any bad reaction on her part. “You said he was the biological son of your father’s best friend and your godfather’s niece so he shouldn’t look like you… Unless it’s because of his special ability? ...What did you say it was called? He’s metamorphous?”

“He’s a metamorphmagus” she corrected gently “And no. It’s not because of that…. I mean, if Teddy wanted, he could make himself look like anyone he wanted – though he still needs a little more time and experience to fully control it – but no, it's not that. He really just looks like me.”

“How?”

“It’s because of the magic on the blood-adoption.” After seeing Tyler’s blank expression, Aria realized she needed to explain this exactly like how Neville had once explained to her. “Okay, let see… Something you’ve to know is that blood has a special value in the magical world. It’s the thing that separated all the magical beings from the rest. You, Caroline, Teddy, Kreacher, me, we all have one thing in common: we carry magic in our blood. Some can actively wield it, like wand-wielders, house-elves and goblins; and others cannot, like vampires or muggle werewolves. But, no matter what, if you're a magical being, you carry magic in your blood. And that makes blood something very valuable.”

Tyler hummed, contemplative. “You said that the war you fought was based on blood prejudice…”

Aria nodded, pleased with the confirmation that he’d been paying attention when she’d told him about it. “Yeah, and it kind of has something to do with what I’m saying…. As I’d told you, our magic is in our blood. A magical being is as strong as the magic in their blood... And because of that, there are some people who believe that muggle blood weakens the power of our magic. That, and their natural dislike towards muggles, makes them see as inferior those who are born from parents without magic.”

“You aren’t one of those people.” Tyler guessed, lifting an eyebrow.

“Of course not.” She said immediately, wrinkling his nose indignantly at the very thought “...I mean, don’t get me wrong. Blood magic is one of the most powerful types of magic in existence and I would be a fool to deny the power and importance of each of the magical bloodlines… That said, I don’t believe your blood defines you, much less who your parents are.”

She would be a hypocrite and an utter dimwit to think otherwise.

After all, Aria was not only the daughter of a muggleborn witch but one of her best friends was one too, and both of them were considered to be the brightest witches of their respective generation. Not only that, but people like Gregory Goyle – who couldn’t master the simplest of spells even when he was a pureblood – were perfect examples that blood purity didn't signify powerful magic. And even beyond that, after growing up neglected and abused at the hands of her own blood, it was an aberration to even consider the idea that blood family could define you in some way.

Being blood-related to someone wasn't the same as being family, Life had taught her that early on.

In front of her, Tyler was nodding. “Okay, I get it. I think… But I still don’t understand what any of this had to do with Teddy’s appearance.”

“I was getting to it.” Aria promised, amused “Anyway, because of the importance of the blood, preserving the magical bloodlines has been one of the things sought since ancient times…”

“Uh?”

“The magical world doesn’t care about things like the gender of your partner, they only care about the continuation of the bloodline.” Actually, that was one of the things that had worsened the relationships between the magical and non-magical people, as the prejudice for same-gender couples was something still present in the non-magical society while the magical communities had accepted it since ancient times. “For that to happen, rituals of all kinds were created... And one of the most popular methods discovered was the blood-adoption.”

“You said you'd blood-adopted Teddy” he realized, frowning “But, what does that mean?”

“A blood-adoption is a ritual in which someone shares their blood and magic with a child, adopting them as their parent and making them an official member of their family… When you blood-adopt someone, they become your biological child.” She explained, enjoying Tyler's stunned expression “In most cases that means erasing all the traces of the birth-parents. But, in Teddy’s case, I modified the ritual to add me as one of his parents, so, right now, he has three biological parents. Remus and Nymphadora Lupin, and me.”

“But that’s… that’s…. that doesn’t make any sense!” Tyler spluttered “Genetics doesn’t work that way! It’s impossible!”

“Oh, Tyler… Nothing it’s impossible with magic. Not really.” She said, shrugging. Unlike Hermione, who had argued for hours about the impossibility of the biological aspects of it, Aria had long ago accepted that anything was possible in the magical world. “…Anyway, Teddy looks mostly like me because when I adopted him, I made him my blood-heir, the heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, and Magic made sure he would look like an heir of my line.”

Tyler tilted his head to the side as he studied her, and the sudden glint on his dark eyes reminded her not to underestimate the intelligence of the newest addition to her family because he hid a cunning side behind his explosive temper. “You said you didn’t care about blood…”

“I don’t.” She confirmed.

“Then why did you blood-adopted Teddy? Why not a normal adoption?”

“Because, even if I didn't need a blood connection to love him like a son, Teddy needed that reassurance. And I wasn’t about to deny him that.” Aria sighed, as she tried to think on how to summarize what she wanted to say in the most gentle and precise way. “Teddy is a very powerful metamorphmagus. But his abilities are linked to his magic core, which is still young and immature. So it’s not recommended that he should consciously morph his features for prolonged periods of time because it can lead to magical exhaustion… And yet, when he was about five, he did that. All the time. He changed his hair to black, or his eyes to emerald green or other things like that because…”

“….Because he wanted to look like you” Tyler completed in a whisper, his expression full of sympathy and understanding.

“Yeah” 

She wasn't proud of the fact she hadn't realized it right away. Andromeda had liked to compare Teddy’s abilities to Tonks, gushing to gush about how most of Tonks’ accidental magic had manifested in the use of her metamorphmagus abilities. So she hadn’t thought much about the fact that Teddy was always sporting some feature that made him resemble her. At least not until he’d had started using his abilities non-stop to make them look alike after they’d left England, and he’d ended up fainting due to a mild case of magical exhaustion.

Aria would never forget what he’d said to her after she’d confronted him about it. ‘ _But you’re my mum!_ ’ he’d cried, lips wobbling and tears running through his cheeks ‘ _I want to look like you! Why won’t you let me?_ ’

And well, there hadn't been much she could have said to that. Instead, she’d blood-adopted him the very next day and had never once regretted it.

“Okay, that explains it then.” Tyler said, quickly changing the subject even though she could clearly see that he still had questions about it. “With the full moon only a few days away, I’ve been thinking about my first transformation… You said it would be painful.”

“It will be.” She confirmed, not even trying to lie to him in an effort to not scare him, as it wasn’t going to benefit him in the long run. Not when he needed to understand exactly what was going to happen if he was to thrive as a werewolf. “All the bones in your body are going to break as you change into a wolf. And because this will be the first time you'll go through the transformation, it would take longer than normal.”

Tyler stared at her, paled and obviously frightened.

“Hey” Aria said, catching his attention by crossing the distance between them to put her hand over his. “I know all of this sounds terrifying. But it won’t be as bad as you fear. The potion I’m going to give you is going to mute some of the pain, and my presence – the presence of a member of your pack – will ease the difficulty of the transformation.” Despite her words, she could still see the simmering anxiety shining in his eyes. “Tyler, what did I tell you when I gave you your necklace?”

Instantly, his hand went to the necklace she’d given him after she’d officially become his magical guardian. It consisted of a sturdy black cord with a large baby dragon fang hanging from it. On itself, the necklace was pretty valuable but – like Caroline’s bracelet – its importance was on all the runes she’d drawn on it, specially designed to protect him and alert her in case of an emergency. 

“You said we were family now” he told her, lifting his eyes to look her directly. 

“And for me, that means I will protect you with my life.” She vowed in all seriousness, gently squeezing his hand “So I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure your transformations are as painless as possible, ok?”

For a long while, he just stared at her, trying to determine the truth of her words. But, finally, something relaxed in his position as he nodded solemnly. His dark brown eyes were calm when he finally returned her gesture and squeezed her hand back. “Ok.”

Aria beamed, and her grin only widened after he didn’t hesitate to smile back. However, when the moment passed, she decided to return to her original cross-legged position, knowing it was time to bring them back to their original purpose. “Now, we really need to continue your occlumency lesson---“

Her words died down as she felt her connection with the wards on her property flare-up. Curious, she slightly cocked her head to the side as she focused on her wards. Someone – a human – had just crossed the perimeter of the external wards, the ones she’d placed in the outside of her land to serve as a warning. Whoever this person was, she knew – thanks to her wards – that they were coming to her house with the intention of seeking her out, and that they didn’t have any ill-intentions towards her. But there was something else. Something just barely under the surface… Ah. They weren’t exactly human after all. They were wiccan.

And, as far as she knew, there was only one wiccan currently residing in Mystic Falls.

“Bonnie is coming here right now” She announced, mentally debating with herself for a second before sending a mental order so the wards would permit that the girl got in her actual property.

Tyler blinked and then, much to her amusement, he visibly sniffed a couple of times. “I can't smell her... But then again, who needs super senses when you got magic at your disposal.”

“You have magic too”

“You know what I mean” he protested, grumbling a little at her not-so-subtle grin. “What do you think she wants?”

“I’ve no idea. But maybe---”

Kreacher chose that moment to pop into the middle of the room. And, while that wasn’t something new, the maniac grin on his face certainly was. Especially when – due to their bond and the house-elf's wards he’d put in place – he definitely knew a wiccan witch was coming to the house. But before she could say something about it, Caroline flashed into the room.

“Oh, man! I lost!” the blond exclaimed, pouting at the even bigger grin on Kreacher’s smug face.

“Mistress’ half-breed friend is not as fast as Kreacher”

Aria blinked. Once. Twice. And then three times. Because Caroline’s appearance made no sense whatsoever. Her gym clothes, which had been in a pristine condition an hour before, were now torn up on parts, burned upon others and the rest of her clothes were stained in blood red. 

“The hell, Forbes? What happened?” Tyler demanded, stunned and aghast on equal measures. 

“I’ve to concur here… What happened?” she demanded, her gaze going from Kreacher to Caroline “You were supposed to be learning how to avoid magical attacks.”

“I was” Caroline beamed, bright and proud.

“Kreacher did as Mistress asked. He taught the half-breed how to survive against a magical foe.” He agreed, still oozing smugness. 

Aria opened her mouth, intended on demanding the details of what had happened but she caught sight of the proud glint on Caroline’s eyes, who was smiling from ear to ear despite her alarming appearance, and decided to not say anything. No one had gotten permanently hurt, Caroline didn’t seem traumatized by the experience and Kreacher was practically beaming. Well, then. She could live without knowing all the details. At least for now.

She sighed.

“Okay… We’ve other things to discuss” she said, focusing her attention on Caroline “I suppose you still want to keep our relationship a secret?” she asked, just to be sure. Despite the fact that Elena’s gang of friends were aware of her friendship with the blonde, they didn’t know how close they really were or that Caroline spend almost all her time outside school with her. And for what Aria knew, the blonde wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

“Yes” Caroline nodded, her face adopting a rare kind of solemnity “It will better that way.”

Despite being curious, Aria decided not to press the subject. “In that case, the three of you need to stay in here while I talk to Bonnie.” she said, receiving thee nods in return, even if Kreacher didn’t look particularly happy about it.

As in cue of her words, the bell of the house rang loud and clear, alerting them that the visitor had finally arrived. So, without further ado, Aria made her way to open the front door. Finding Bonnie on the other side wasn’t a surprise. Though, she'd got to admit to being curious about the nervous but determinate expression on the young wiccan’s face. 

“Hello Bonnie”

“Hi Aria” she greeted back and, after a long inhalation of breath, she said “Uh, may I come in? I want to talk about something with you.”

“Sure. Come in.”

Aria guided her to the living room, making extra sure to not touch the teen. Even if she’d placed notice-me-not spells on her magic and everything single magical thing on her house, including the wards, to make sure anyone who didn't know the secret didn't note the magic, she wasn’t willing to take unnecessary risks by touching the young wiccan.

When they arrived at her living room, she waited until the teenager took her seat before sitting in her favorite armchair. In the privacy of her mind, she couldn’t help but compare this situation with the visit the Salvatore brothers had paid her all those weeks ago. Because while she didn't believe Bonnie was a threat in the same category as the two vampires, she was still wary of her. And she definitely didn’t trust her. 

“So... what did you want to talk about?”

Bonnie stared at her for a moment, seemingly thinking her words before she blurted out. “I know you’re a witch. And I know you know I’m one too… You and I, we’re the same.”

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She was a wand-wielder witch and Bonnie was a wiccan witch, and, therefore, they weren’t the same. Not by a long shot. But she couldn’t tell her that to the teenager seated in front of her. Not when doing so will risk the secrecy of the magical world. And, for that reason, Aria decided that remaining quiet was the best course of action for the moment.

“Stefan and Damon mentioned that you were really powerful and experienced even if you’re not really that much older than me.” Bonnie persisted “And I’ve been thinking this last few days that maybe you can teach me… I mean… My gram taught me the basics before she died and I've been learning on my own but I… I just want to learn more magic, you know?”

She did.

She understood more than she cared to admit what it was to yearn to know more about the wonders of magic, especially when you were so new at it. And it was for this exact same reason she’d once considered the idea of approaching Bonnie and offering to teach her. After all, even if their kinds could not be more different, magic was still magic, and Aria knew enough about a wiccan witch’s power that she could still teach Bonnie how to control her powers.

But she wasn’t in the position to take Bonnie under her wing. Not anymore.

“I’m sorry” she said at last “But I can’t teach you.”

“Why?” Bonnie demanded immediately “I promise I won’t cause you any problems---”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with that” she affirmed, cutting her off. 

There were multiple reasons why she couldn’t teach Bonnie.

Like the fact that she would be toying with the line drawn by the Statute of Secrecy about the stance of the magical world on wiccans. The Statute had declared that, in general, non-magical people should be kept in the dark about their world but it’d allowed some very, very specific exceptions, which could only be applied if the national law of the specific country wasn’t against it. A clear example of that had been the possibility of revealing their world to a non-magical individual if you marry them, as the vast majority of the countries in the American continent had had bans against such marriages. And most of the said bans hadn’t had been lifted until after the defeat of Grindelwald.

However, the Statute had also decreed that none of the exceptions applied if the non-magical person was a wiccan. Because if that was the case, it was completely forbidden any kind of reveal. Not to mention that, specifically for wand-wielder, the Statute had made created a universal law that stated they were banned from forming any kind of relationships – much less the ones that were romantic in nature – with wiccans, because the risk of discovery was too great to allow it. Any relationship with a wiccan was equivalent to treason for the wizarding governments of their world, and was suitably punished according to it.

And yet, not-so-long-ago, Aria had contemplated the idea of risking all that to help Bonnie. Because she’d seen her – so young and inexperienced, and yet so determined to use her gift – and she’d felt a little tempted on helping her. She’d even talked with Teddy about it.

But none of that mattered anymore.

Because Caroline and Tyler were the real reason why she couldn’t help Bonnie. The two of them – a vampire and a werewolf – were a part of her family, and therefore they were under her protection. And she wasn’t about to let a wiccan near them when they didn't know how to protect themselves yet, not when wiccans had a history of deep hatred against their kinds that was twenty times worse than anything seen in the magical world. Especially because Bonnie, who’d already used her magic to aid the Salvatore brothers in schemes that had hurt them in some way before, had proven time and time again that she'd decided to walk on the same path as her ancestors.

And Aria wasn’t about to start training her and increasing the level of threat she represented. 

“I could never teach someone with such a narrowed down view of the world” And she was speaking the truth, even if that wasn’t the most important part of it. “You believe that just because you’re a witch and your best friend is human, you’re automatically the good guys. And you’re blinded to the fact that your hands are as bloody as the hands of the so called bad guys.”

Bonnie opened her mouth, probably to protest, but she lifted her hand and stopped her before she could say anything. “And, please, don’t try to deny it…. I know enough about what had been going on in this town to be sure that, even if you haven’t killed anyone directly, you’ve looked to the other way while other people got killed or hurt. You’ve even assisted in some cases.”

“That’s not true! I’ve never harmed a human!”

She titled her head, catching the very specific wording. “Yeah? And what about those who aren’t human? Are they automatically evil just because of that?”

“Vampires are an abomination of nature” Bonnie declared with venom “And werewolves are no much better.”

“So you would condemn two whole races that had lived on this earth for who knows how long, just because you believe their existence offends nature.” Aria scoffed, not bothering to disguise her disapproval, and maybe even a little of disdain. “And you’re so blinded by this that you’ve turned your back on one of your best friends.”

She knew her words had hit home when she saw Bonnie flinch but the girl didn’t lose her stubborn gaze and Aria understood it was a lost cause. Now, more than ever, it was evident to her that she would never be able to trust Bonnie Bennett.

“I won’t teach you and I’m not changing my mind on the matter” she declared firmly, staring directly into her eyes “So I think it would be for the best if you leave.”

For a moment, she was sure Bonnie was going to keep arguing about it. But the girl finally lowered her eyes and nodded sharply. “Yeah, maybe that’s for the best.” And, without saying anything else, she got up and left the room at a fast pace.

Aria stayed in her seat, still tense and wary, until the wards alerted her that Bonnie had left her property. Only then, safe in the knowledge that any potential threat was over for the moment, she rose to her feet and went looking for her little family. It was time to resume their lessons.

After all, Teddy was going to arrive the next day and the full moon would fall in three days. 

They didn’t have time to waste.

* * *

**& &&//06//&&&**

* * *

“Are we sure we can trust her?” Damon demanded, pacing in the center of the room.

For once, Stefan seemed to be in agreement with his older brother. His expression was troubled, even if he'd opted to remain seated by her side. “It’s true that we don’t know what her intentions are… Besides, she kidnapped you a couple of days ago, Elena.”

“I’m right here, you know. Even if I were human, I would still be able to hear you loud and clear” Rose said, rolling her eyes from her position on the armchair by the open windows.

Elena considered the vampire in silence as she organized her thoughts.

The truth was that she hadn’t known how to react when the vampire had shown up in the boarding house and had offered them her assistance. Because, while Rose’s attitude had softened, she still acted rather cold and aloof towards her. But then, Elena could still remember how devastated Rose had been at Trevor’s fate, the way she’d fallen to the ground and cried after Elijah had killed him. And maybe her attitude had less to do personally with her and more with the fact that she was still mourning her friend. 

Besides, now that the entrance of the tomb was completely sealed – and they still didn’t know how that had happened – Elena was unable to talk to Katherine and find answers to her multiple questions, at least not until Bonnie found a way to open it again. And, in the privacy of her own mind, Elena could admit to being a little desperate about the truth behind what exactly had happened with Katherine all those centuries ago, what was the truth behind the Sun and Moon curse, and what was her particular role – as the doppelgänger – in all of it. 

“Rose is in our side now” she declared firmly, smiling in the direction of said vampire “I believe in her.”

At her words, Rose stared at her with her eyebrows raised, but she didn’t say anything to her, opting to focus her attention on Stefan and Damon. “You might not believe in my intentions, but the truth is that I’m the only one who knows what’s about to come… And, if you want to survive the upcoming storm, I suggest that you shut up and listen before I get tired and leave this damn town to save me of all this trouble.”

Damon scowled at Rose’s words but remained silent after a quick look from Stefan, who was staring at the female vampire with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. “You said before that Elena’s in danger… But in danger of what? Elijah is dead.”

“You’ve been alive for over a century and a half and you haven't heard of them? Elijah is an original.” Rose said, staring at Stefan in horrified incredulity “He can’t be killed. None of the originals can.”

“That’s bullshit” Damon scoffed “I staked him in the chest. He’s dead…. No vampire can survive that.”

“He’s an original” Rose insisted, looking extremely irritated. “They aren’t normal vampires.”

Elena sat up straighter, as she remembered something she’d learned when she’d been kidnapped by Rose and Trevor. “You said before that the originals were something like vampire royalty”

“What?” Damon sneered “There’s not such a thing as---”

“Something like that.” Rose concurred, ignoring completely the elder Salvatore “They are the oldest and strongest vampires in existence. They can’t be killed. And their word is as good as law.”

“What a load of crap” Damon spat, crossing his arms.

Rose actually looked affronted at the words, as if they'd offended her on a personal level. “So you’re telling me that you’ve never heard about them? Not even once?”

“I have heard stories about them before” Stefan said, taking Damon and Elena by surprise. Her boyfriend was frowning as he stared at Rose, and she detected a glint of anxiety in his eyes. “But I always thought the rumors were just that… Because what I heard sounded like things out of myths.”

“Everything you’ve heard about them is true” Rose assured him “Believe me, I worked for them for almost two decades before I was forced to go on the run. I know how real and powerful they truly are.”

And when she thought about it, Elena felt something akin to dread settled on her stomach as she realized what that meant for her. “So the oldest vampires in existence are coming for me.”

“Yes” Rose confirmed, finally looking at her in the eye. “You’re the Petrova doppelgänger. The key of breaking the curse… And now that the originals know you exist, they won’t rest until you lie at their feet, dead.”

The words were said in a harsh and brutal tone that they painted perfectly clear a horrible picture filled with blood, and Elena couldn’t help but shiver as she dreaded what awaited her in the future. At her side, Stefan was quick to put an arm around her and draw her to his chest. “It’s going to be alright” he promised, kissing her temple “We’re going to protect you.”

Rose scoffed, loudly. “Nothing you’ll do will save her. The girl is already a walking corpse.” 

It seemed that was too much for Damon, who snarled as he flashed towards Rose, pinning her by the neck to the bookcase on the other side of the room. “Talk about Elena like that again and I’ll kill you.” He spat. 

Faster than her human’s eyes could follow, Rose broke free of Damon’s hold and impaled him in the stomach with a book. He howled in pain, toppling over his feet as his hands went to his midsection in an effort to remove the book. But Rose didn’t let him move, pulling both of his arms behind his back with one of her hands and forcing Damon to look up to her with the other. “I’m over five hundred years old, you’re nothing but a baby vampire to me. So, I would advise you to not make threats you are incapable of fulfilling” she advised, still calm and collected, as if Damon wasn’t bleeding so much that a pool of blood had already formed at their feet, and completely ignoring the fact that Stefan had risen to his feet, body tense and ready to attack. “And, on that thought, let’s make something clear. Don’t mistake me for someone who’s going to stand by and let you treat them as you please. Touch me again and I will rip your heart out…. Do you understand?” When Damon refused to answer, Rose plunged another book in him, this time on his collarbone, making him choke on his own blood. After a few tense moments, and with deliberate slowness, Rose removed the book from the elder Salvatore’s collarbone. “I said… Do you understand?”

“Yes” he croaked with a murderous glare.

“Good” she said, releasing him completely. Turning her back on him, she focused once more on Stefan. “I hope I was clear enough for you too” Her boyfriend nodded in silence to her words. Though, his worried gaze was fixed on his brother, who had managed to stand up but was still wincing while his wounds healed themselves. 

“You said… You said I was already as good as dead” Elena found herself saying when it became obvious nobody else was going to speak “If you truly believe that then, why are you here?”

“Because I want to avoid a repetition of what happened with Katerina Petrova” she answered after a moment, calmly retaking her seat by the windows. “I want to make sure no innocent blood is spilled in vain”

“I don’t understand” Elena frowned in confusion “I thought you said I was supposed to be a lost cause?”

Rose scoffed, staring at her with a strange glint in her eyes. “How very Petrova of you, to think you’re the only innocent that needs saving.”

She dropped her gaze, feeling something hot and uncomfortable burn on her stomach at the mere idea of being similar to Katherine in any way beyond their physical resemble.

“What innocents are you trying to protect then?” Stefan asked, embracing her once more “I thought the curse only required Elena’s blood to be broken”

“Mmm, something like that” Rose murmured “But that’s not what this is about… Do you know what happened after Katerina escaped the originals?”

“They put a price on her head” Damon answered, rolling his eyes “We knew that already… It’s the reason she’d been running for the last five centuries.”

“Yes, but that came later… First, Katerina went back to the Bulgarian village where she'd born and grown, and she found that everyone who had lived in it had been killed. Every child, woman, and men were slaughtered. Not for revenge, not to punish her, not even to satiate their vampire's hunger… They all simply died to serve as a message to Katerina."

“What message?” Elena asked in a whisper, afraid of already knowing the answer.

“That the real punishment for her actions would be ten times worse than anything she could have ever imagine” Rose declared, somber “And that’s the real reason why Katerina had been running all these centuries. Why everyone who was somehow connected to her escape have been running since then… To avoid that punishment.”

Elena gasped, horrified at the very idea of something similar happening to her and her loved ones. Needing some kind of reassurance – anything that would calm the rising terror in her – she turned towards Stefan, but he wasn’t looking at her. Her boyfriend seemed to be exchanging a silent conversation with Damon, both of them looking grim. 

“So, you see, I’m not here because I think there’s a way to save you, Elena Gilbert” Rose calmly announced, looking directly into her eyes “I’m here because, if something isn’t done, the streets of this city are going to become rivers of blood, as every single one of the citizens of this city is slaughtered. And, personally, I would like to avoid that… But I don't have the power to do so. The only one who can avoid that it's you, Elena.”

The words rang on her head, loud and clear, and even though Elena knew she needed to say something, she found herself unable to speak. At that moment, she couldn't do anything but try to reconcile the fact that, apparently, her survival would mean the death of everyone she loved.

* * *

**& &&//06//&&&**

* * *

The whispers followed Teddy as he boarded the Hogwarts Express back to London.

The number of students going back home for the Easter holidays was probably not even half of the school population, but their whispers about him followed him inside the train in the same way it happened in the castle. If anything, they seemed to be louder now that they were outside of the watchful eye of Hogwarts' faculty, especially when it became evident that Teddy was making his way to the farthest carriage available. 

_“—there, there… do you see him?”_

_“---man, he’s so lucky! I would do anything to be adopted by The-Girl-Who-Conquered!”_

_“---did you hear? He’s always alone”_

_“---do you think he could get me her autograph?”_

_“---my cousin told me he’s the best of their year! And he's way ahead of the rest of them!”_

_“---he looks just like her!!”_

The whispers weren’t something new, as they’d started from the second he’d put a foot inside of Hogwarts and seemed to only grow as the months went by. So, Teddy did what he’d been doing for months and held his head high as he walked, pretending to not see the way people pointed at him or to not hear the murmured conversations that started as soon as somebody saw him. And, just as a precaution, he also made sure to walk a little faster if someone looked particularly determined to seek him out. As he didn't want a repetition of what had happened in his first weeks of school, when a couple of people had followed everywhere – _everywhere!_ – while they pestered with inappropriate and invasive questions about his mum and their life.

Only after he arrived at an empty carriage at the back of the train, and successfully spelled it shut – so nobody but him could open it – did Teddy allowed himself to relax. 

He knew he’d promised his mum he was going to try and make some friends. And he’d tried. Really, he had. He’d tried to make conversation with his year mates, had offered his help in their classes, and hadn’t locked himself in the Room of Requirement as often as he used to. But – after a couple of weeks of trying – he’d yet to meet someone who didn’t stare at his face in fascination – is like they thought that if they stared him hard enough, a lightning bolt scar would appear on his forehead – or someone who didn’t ask him about his mum in the first twenty seconds of conversation. And he was tired of keeping a polite face and controlling his temper so he didn’t end up punching someone in the face, especially when their comments went way beyond the rude territory and straight to the inappropriate. 

After all his effort, he deserved a couple of hours of peace and quiet for himself.

Teddy sighed, leaning his face into the window as he unpacked the package of food Kreacher had delivered him that morning in the privacy of his room.

It wasn’t the fact that everyone looked at him and instantly related him to his mum that made him frustrated, exasperated, and maybe all-around furious. Why should it? He loved his mum – she was his favorite person ever – and he loved looking so much like her. And he would never dare to regret being adopted by her, not when that day was one of the happiest days of his life.

No, that wasn’t the problem.

The problem was that everyone seemed to see Aria Potter as some Great Savior. They thought of her as the Girl-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, the Girl-Who-Conquered, and even as the Lady Potter-Black. But they didn’t see the real her, the person behind all those titles. Not really.

And that, that was what made him furious.

His mum was so much more than those stupid titles that had done nothing but give her grief all her life. His mum was warmth when she was showing her love through physical affection, or taking under her wing those she considered innocent or defenseless. Freedom when she was in the air, soaring through the skies in her animagus form, or in her broom. Mischief and laughter when she was playing with him, and encouraging Kreacher to have fun with them. Wisdom when she was teaching him new things or researching some complicated thing that had caught her fancy. Bravery when she was standing up for something she believed in. 

And for him, his mum was his home, always.

Which was why it infuriated him so much that the people of the magical world couldn’t see beyond her stupid titles. They didn’t even tried to get to know her. They only wanted Aria Potter, The Hero. No the real her.

And that… that was just unfair.

Because if the people of the magical world tried to see her as a person instead of a legend, then they wouldn’t be so interested in everything she did, and then maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal that she had stopped aging at the age of seventeen. And, maybe, that would mean she would be able to stop hiding in the muggle world.

It wasn’t like Teddy wanted to stop living as they’d been doing for the last seven years. On the contrary, some of his best memories were of them – his mum, Kreacher, him, and sometimes his uncle Nev – as they had fun exploring new and exciting places, learning new cultures, and getting in trouble as they got lost. Not to mention that he would prefer to avoid prolonged periods of time in the company of people like Molly Weasley, who was a little too interested in his personal tastes and mum’s decisions for his liking.

But.

But.

But his mum missed them.

She missed been able to visit them and spent time with them whenever she wanted. She missed not having to rely on letters to talk to those who didn’t know about her ageless status. She missed going to the wizarding world without having to disguise herself. She missed life as it was before.

She wasn’t unhappy with this new version of her life, Teddy was sure of that, but he was also pretty sure that she missed the freedom of being her without the fear of someone discovering her secret. And it was unfair that she’d to live like that just because the people in the magical world were so caught on her legend that they would never leave her live in peace if they knew the truth. 

The whistle of the train brought him back from his brooding thoughts, and he couldn't help but perk up as he saw the station coming closer and closer.

Soon, he would be home.

With growing excitement, he pulled out his weightless trunk – that spell had been one of the first ones his mum had taught him after he’d brought his school supplies – and marched out of the train. And if there was a little spring in his footsteps, well, nobody but him had to know that.

Teddy scanned the faces of the people in the platform, looking for his gran – who was usually the one to pick him up – but he was unable to find her distinctive tall and imposing figure in the sea of unfamiliar faces. 

“What kind of welcome is this? No hug for your favorite uncle?”

Surprised, his head snapped in the direction of the familiar voice and he couldn’t do anything but gape in surprise at his uncle Neville, who had somehow managed to sneak up on him from behind and was beaming at him from ear to ear.

The surprise didn’t last long though.

Without hesitation, he threw himself in the open arms of his second favorite person – his gran was in a solid third position. He loved her a lot but he couldn't talk to her in the same way he could talk with his uncle Nev – as his uncle laughed, returning his hug with the same energy.

“Merlin’s pants, kiddo! You’ve gotten taller!” his uncle said, putting his hands in his shoulders as he carefully inspected him “What’s your secret? A let’s-get-taller potion?” 

Teddy snorted, trying and failing to suppress his smile. “That doesn’t exist”

“Of course it does” his uncle affirmed with a grin “It’s what you’ve been drinking to grow up so fast in three months”

There wasn’t anything he could do but laugh. “I’ve missed you, uncle Nev”

“Me too, kiddo” the older man said, his wide beam softening into the familiar fond smile he usually reserved for Teddy or his mum “Which is why I’m really relieved your gran didn’t fight me too much when I asked her if I could pick you up. Because, I swear, that woman can be even scarier than my gran when she wants.”

Silently, Teddy agreed with him. His gran could be really scary sometimes. Especially when she was arguing about something she felt passionately about. And even if he’d only met with the infamous Lady Augusta Longbottom a handful of times, that had been enough to be sure that she could be as equally scary. Honestly, he’d the impression that someone was bound to end up dead – or worse – if there ever was a fight between the two women. 

“This is all your stuff, right?” his uncle asked. At his nod, he wordlessly shrunk his trunk until it was the size of a small chocolate bar and then passing it to him. “Now, it’s time to leave”

“Should I activate my ring?” he asked after he'd safely put his trunk in his pocket, unconsciously playing the Potter-Black heir ring he carried on the middle finger of his right hand. His mum had given him the ring after his adoption and he knew it carried a lot of protections, like the one that served as an emergency portkey if he ever needed to get to safety. But the most useful characteristic – at least for him – was the rune that, once activated, made him look completely normal to those ignorant of the magical world. 

His uncle Neville shook his head. “It’s not necessary. We’re going to side-along appear” And, without adding anything else, he grabbed him by his shoulder and the both of them disappeared from the station and appeared in the living room of 12 Grimmauld Place.

Teddy wobbled a bit after appearing but, thanks to the years he’d been doing side-along apparition, he managed to stay upright. He beamed, proud of himself, and his uncle Nev chuckled as he ruffed his turquoise hair.

“Now, I know you're eager to see your mum again and meet your new family members but, do you think you have time to drink a cup of tea with your favorite uncle?”

“Always” he promised sincerely, gaining a fond smile in return.

And so, for the next hour and a half, the two of them sat in the kitchen, drinking tea as they caught up with everything that had happened since they'd seen each other in Christmas vacation. They knew the most important parts – like the new treaty with the goblins that his uncle had been working on, and Teddy's problems to connect with someone of his age in school – because they exchanged letters every couple of days, but it still felt good to just sit down and talk with his uncle about everything and anything. Their conversation was a mix of easy banter and seriousness that was familiar and comforting. His uncle Neville had always been a permanent presence in his life, even after they'd started traveling around the world, and it was too easy to confide in him. To love him as his paternal figure. 

“I know it’s frustrating but you’ve to give it time” his uncle advised after Teddy had finally stopped venting about his schoolmates “You’ll make friends soon enough, kiddo. You just have to be patient and keep trying.”

Teddy snorted. “That sounds like it could take forever”

“Nothing so radical” his uncle’s grin morphed into a serious expression “But you’ve to remember that true friendships aren’t born overnight. They require time and patience. And a lot of effort from all parties involved… So, be patient and keep trying, okay?”

“Okay” he sighed “Though, your advice sounds a lot like mum’s… Are the two of you coordinating these speeches behind my back?” he asked, genuinely curious. One couldn't know for certain with the two of them.

His uncle threw his head back and laughed “Of course not, kiddo. It's just that your mum and I just think alike for the most part.” That was true “And talking about your mum, it’s probably time for you to go. I don't want her to start a prank war with me from the other side of the ocean for making you come home too late.”

The funny part was that his mum would probably do it, if only to make them all laugh.

“Oh, before I forget, please give Aria this for me” his uncle said, putting a shrunk and sealed metal box on the palm of his hand. At his silent question, he simply said “It’s a supply of wolfsbane”

“Oh, right. For Tyler” he nodded, carefully guarding the box in the pocket of his shirt.

“Exactly… Now, be good to your mum and don’t forget to write me and tell me all about the newest members of the Potter family, alright?” his uncle said, giving him a fierce hug and passing him an old and ratty shoe “I’ll try to escape work and see you off when you return to Hogwarts”

“Okay” he said, grabbing the shoe and feeling how it start to heat in his hands as the count to cero started “See you soon, uncle Nev”

His uncle’s smile was the last thing Teddy saw before he felt the portkey yanking him from his navel across space. After a couple of dizzy spins, he tumbled over his feet on the familiar floor of the living room of their house in Mystic Falls.

“Teddy!”

And then a familiar pair of arms were around him, and he couldn’t do anything else but lean into her touch, hugging her fiercely as he inhaled her familiar scent – Tulips. Cream and cookies. Parchment. And something else that was purely her – and felt himself relax completely. He was safe and content. There in her arms, he was home.

“Welcome home, little wolf” his mum whispered in his ear, kissing his forehead and then beaming at him.

Her smile was familiar and wonderful in all the best ways. It was the same smile that had accompanied him through his childhood, a smile that said ‘ _I love you_ ’ and ‘ _I’m right here for you_ ’ at the same time.

“It’s good to be back” he said, savoring the moment for a couple of seconds more before letting her go.

It was only then that he noted for the first time the fact that they weren’t alone in the room. A couple of feet away, two teenagers – a boy and a girl – were standing together, looking at him with open curiosity. The girl – Caroline – was blonde and beautiful as she smiled from ear to ear at him with nothing but genuine warmth, and he found himself returning her smile without thinking. The boy – Tyler – wasn’t smiling like her, but his dark eyes were soft and familiar in a way that called to the latent presence of his wolf. 

“My son, Teddy Potter-Black,” his mum said in her posh voice, putting her arms in his shoulders “May I introduce you to Caroline Forbes and Tyler Lockwood, my wards and the new members of our family.”

It took him probably five seconds too long to react. But, when he did, Teddy crossed the distance between them and threw his arms around both of them without hesitation. He felt them stiffen in surprise at first but, slowly, he felt them return the gesture tentatively “You’re my siblings, my family” he declared, feeling how his magic sang at their contact, reaffirming his words. “Welcome to our little, crazy family.”

* * *

**& &&//06//&&&**

* * *

“So, even after hearing what happened to Katerina’s village, Elena Gilbert won’t surrender herself to us?” Elijah asked, sounding slightly surprised.

“Why the tone of surprise?” Kol asked his elder brother, more amused than anything else “She’s a Petrova doppelgänger. Thinking only about themselves is in their blood.”

“Actually, I think she might be tempted to offer herself” Rose-Marie informed them, frowning a little in concentration “But even then, the Salvatore brothers won’t let her sacrifice herself. They seem perfectly willing to let the rest of the world burn as long as Elena Gilbert manages to survive.”

“Oh, dear. Another pair of fools who have fallen victim to the famous Petrova’s allure” Kol mused, barely managing to stop himself from smirking at the way Elijah stiffened next to him at his indirect insult.

Honestly, his brother should felt lucky that Kol was feeling too happy and excited to employ his normal level of mockery when he referred to Elijah's stupidity, and, as a result, it’d been reduced to what could be considered as light teasing. Besides, the three people present had lived to see through Elijah’s stupid infatuation with Katerina, so it wasn't even a secret or something like that. 

“A pair of fools who will die if they try anything stupid that could affect our plans” Elijah declared after a moment.

“I’ll stop them before it comes to that” Rose-Marie promised, loyalty shining in her eyes.

Rose-Marie had been a smart addition to their plans.

After they’d contacted her and informed her of the fact that Ingrid had been reincarnated, Rose-Marie hadn’t hesitate to offer herself for anything they needed. And so, under their instructions, she’d infiltrated the human doppelgänger’s group to spying them and stop them before they could do anything that could mess their plans. 

“Thank you, Rose-Marie” Elijah said, smiling at the vampire “Is there anything else we should know?”

“At the moment, no.”

“Good... In that case, you know what to do next”

Rose-Marie nodded in acceptance and, after offering them both a slight bow to show her respect, she flashed away without saying else, leaving them alone in the middle of the road that lead to the town known as Mystic Falls.

“Well? What are we waiting for?” Kol couldn’t help but ask, forcing himself to not run into the town – and there was a part of him that was curious about the fact that the town had been built over the land where once had stood their village – and look for his sister. Ingrid was so close that he could practically feel it. And, memories or not memories, he couldn’t wait to see her again. “After all, we’ve quite the to-do-list.”

“Yes” Elijah agreed with a smile, staring straight ahead to the town that was about to be turned upside down with their presence “Let us begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go, next chapter it’s the full moon and a reunion. But I won’t say anything more.   
> Give me all your thoughts! ;)  
> P.S: After reading all your comments and thinking about it, I’ve decided on the next two pairings: Caroline & Elijah, and Rebekah & Neville.


End file.
